President Biden on Wednesday shielded thousands of Palestinians in the United States from deportation for the next 18 months, using an obscure immigration principle as he faces growing criticism of US support for Israel in the Gaza war.
About 6,000 Palestinians are eligible for a deferment under a program called Deferred Enforced Departure, which allows immigrants whose homelands are in crisis to remain in the United States and work legally.
In a memo obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Biden said that “many civilians remain at risk” in Gaza after the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
“Therefore, I am directing the postponement of the removal of certain Palestinians present in the United States,” he said.
The decision comes as Mr. Biden faces pressure over the war, particularly among Arab Americans who were once a reliable constituency for him. In recent weeks, pro-Palestinian groups have been protesting outside his campaign stations, chanting “Genocide Joe.”
While Mr. Biden’s criticism of the war has become more vocal since the Oct. 7 attack, the United States has not signaled that it plans major policy changes, such as placing conditions on billions of dollars in military aid to Israel.
Israel’s war against Hamas has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Much of Gaza has been left in ruins as Israel bombards the area in retaliation for attacks on October 7, when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in Israel.
Abed Ayoub, the executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, praised the decision to exempt Palestinians from deportation.
“There is a desperate need for this,” he said. “We see that the situation in Gaza and Palestine is not improving, and that is something that is welcome, and we are glad to see it implemented. We hope that other measures will be implemented.”
There are some exceptions to Mr. Biden’s mandate. Palestinians convicted of felonies or those “considered to pose a threat to public safety” would not be protected from deportation, Jake Sullivan, Mr. Biden’s national security adviser, said in a statement.
Some Republicans, meanwhile, have pushed for a crackdown on the Palestinians. Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, a former Trump administration official, introduced legislation in November that would revoke visas from Palestinians and bar them from receiving refugee or asylum status in the United States.
Mr. Biden’s decision to protect Palestinians from deportation has been in the works for some time. More than 100 Department of Homeland Security staff members signed an open letter to Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, in the fall, saying the agency should extend some protections to Palestinians.
Some congressional Democrats also asked the administration to find a way to protect Palestinians in the United States.
“In light of the ongoing armed conflict, Palestinians already in the United States should not be forced to return to the Palestinian territories, consistent with President Biden’s stated commitment to protect Palestinian civilians,” they wrote in a letter in November. to which Senators Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and others signed.
Lawmakers said the population should be covered by Deferred Enforced Departure or a similar program known as Temporary Protected Status, which has been used to help people from Venezuela, Afghanistan, Ukraine and elsewhere. (Deferred Forced Departure is currently being used to help people from Hong Kong and Liberia.)
Ahilan Arulanantham, director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law, said the short-term practical effect was the same in both programs.
“Any person who meets the conditions will have protection from deportation and the ability to obtain a work permit,” he said.
However, he cautioned that the long-term differences could be significant. Palestinians could be most at risk of having protection measures expire at 18 months because it is at the discretion of the president, Mr. Arulanantham said.
Temporary Protected Status, by contrast, requires agency officials at the Department of Homeland Security to evaluate protections before they expire.
Earlier this month, Mr. Biden ordered financial and travel sanctions against four Israeli settlers accused of violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank. While the war is centered in Gaza, there is also growing violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967 and is home to more than 2.5 million Palestinians.
