Trump administration suspends visas for almost all Palestinians with passports
The Trump administration is suspending the approval of almost every type of visitor visa for Palestinians who have a passport. The new restrictions go further than the initial pause the administration put on passports in mid-August for roughly 2 million Palestinians from Gaza.
Who the new directive effects
The New York Times reports the new restrictions include passports acquired to enable medical treatment, study at American universities, visit family and friends or allow for business travel. The State Department reportedly has sent the message to all U.S. embassies and consulates.
State Department bans PLO and PA from U.N. General Assembly
Last week, the U.S. announced it also would not issue visas to Palestinian officials who had planned on attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York City next month.
The announcement claimed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was implementing this to hold the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) “accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace. “
Among those whose passports were impacted was PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
A U.S. State Department spokesman told CNN that “every visa decision is a national security decision, and the State Department is vetting and adjudicating visa decisions for PA passport holders accordingly.”
The Times is reporting Abbas is now calling on the Trump administration to reconsider.
Support for Palestinian statehood
The PA has praised plans by certain Western countries to formally recognize a sovereign Palestinian state, including France, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada, unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire and allows urgent humanitarian aid, food and medical care into Gaza. The United Nations recently declared a famine in Gaza and warned of the spread of mass starvation.
147 nations already recognize an independent Palestinian state.
Israel has strongly rejected the possibility of recognizing a Palestinian state.
In August, the U.S. suspended visitor visas for Palestinians seeking medical care. An organization called Heal Palestine confirmed it brought children from Gaza to the U.S. for medical care, including children who lost limbs in the war.
The associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute says more than 9,000 people with visitor visas and documentation from the Palestinian Authority entered the U.S. in 2024.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
