WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Rick Scott released the below statement voicing concerns over the possibility of the Biden administration allowing tens of thousands of unvetted Palestinians to enter the United States. More than 100 Democrats in Congress have already called for President Biden to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and approve Deferred Enforced Departure for Palestinians present in the United States.

Senator Rick Scott said, “I am gravely concerned about the pressure building from the radical left for President Biden to allow thousands of Palestinians to come to America. This would continue the disturbing trend we have seen from Democrat presidents of allowing unvetted and potentially dangerous individuals from nations and states that hate America to pour into our country. It cannot be allowed to happen again.

“The FBI has repeatedly warned of the serious threats America faces from terror cells that are growing here in the United States. Director Wray detailed the significance of these threats to me in a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing last year, and reiterated the danger we face during yesterday’s Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. We cannot ignore these warnings and the massive threat of terrorism that President Biden has allowed to grow within the United States. As reported in the Wall Street Journal this morning, European nations are taking action right now to stop terrorism tied to Gaza and the October 7^th attacks on Israel. Given these reports and dire warnings from the FBI, I will do everything in my power as a United States Senator to block the Biden administration from bringing in refugees from Gaza, which have already been rejected from resettlement by Egypt and Jordan, and putting even more Americans at risk of terrorism on U.S. soil. Any resettlement must happen in the region, not the United States.”

MORE…

The dangerous trend of Democrat administrations allowing tens of thousands of unvetted individuals to enter the United States is well documented. During the administration of then-Governor Scott, the Obama administration granted TPS to more than 10,000 Syrian refugees and tried to place them in Florida while refusing to share any information with the State of Florida or Florida law enforcement agencies about who those people were or how they were vetted.

It happened again after President Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, when his administration allowed approximately 90,000 unvetted Afghans to come into the United States.

Since he took office, President Biden’s purposeful failure to secure the southern border has allowed more than 8 million people to illegally enter the United States, including hundreds on the FBI Terror Watch List and more than 1.7 million known gotaways.

This morning, the Wall Street Journal reported that European law enforcement and intelligence agencies foiled terror plots tied to individuals posing as refugees. This reporting also noted that yesterday, Italian officials announced the arrest of three Palestinians suspected of ties to a terror organization and who allegedly planned to launch multiple attacks against military and civilian targets across Europe.

###