The Trump administration has suspended all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza, halting a small but lifesaving program that allowed children to receive medical treatment in U.S. hospitals. The move came just days after far-right commentator Laura Loomer spread video of young patients arriving at San Francisco’s airport, framing it as evidence of a backdoor refugee program despite the visas being temporary and tied solely to medical care.
“All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days,” the State Department announced in a statement posted to X on Saturday.
The decision follows a storm of criticism from the political right. Loomer, who described her video of the children arriving with their families as “exclusive,” claimed it proved the administration was betraying its pledge not to accept Palestinian refugees. The footage, however, had originally been posted by the nonprofit HEAL Palestine on Instagram, where it gained more than half a million likes. HEAL’s program does not resettle families; instead, it arranges temporary medical visas for children before returning them and their relatives to the Middle East.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the visa suspension in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, accusing aid groups of being tied to militant organizations but providing no evidence. “First of all, it’s not just kids. It’s a bunch of adults that are accompanying them,” Rubio said. He continued, “they come with adults accompanying them, obviously, and we are going to pause this program and reevaluate how those visas are being vetted.” He added, “We’re not going to be in partnership with groups that have links or sympathies towards Hamas.”
Rubio said the department had received “evidence” from “numerous congressional offices” raising concerns about the program but declined to identify the offices or present the evidence. CNN reported that it asked the State Department for more details, but none were provided.
HEAL Palestine, the organization at the center of the backlash, issued a statement condemning the administration’s decision. “HEAL Palestine is an American humanitarian nonprofit organization delivering urgent aid and medical care to children in Palestine, including sponsoring and bringing severely injured children to the U.S. on temporary visas for essential medical treatment not available at home. After their treatment is complete, the children and any accompanying family members return to the Middle East,” the group said.
Since its founding, HEAL Palestine has arranged for 63 injured children between the ages of six and 15 to come to the U.S. for treatment, bringing a total of 148 evacuees. Many of the children lost limbs or suffered severe burns, often as a result of Israeli military strikes, while others struggle with cancer or other chronic illnesses. “All are severely malnourished,” the group said.
Aid organizations stress that the program is a critical lifeline given Gaza’s devastated health system. Médecins Sans Frontières estimates that 11,000 Palestinians require medical evacuation, including 4,500 children. With hospitals bombed, supplies restricted, and patients unable to leave, many face death without outside intervention. “We are looking for countries — we really want them to open their doors to accept more and more cases because those patients are dying inside Gaza,” said Hani Isleem, MSF’s project coordinator for medical evacuations in Gaza.
The U.S. has historically provided limited visas for Palestinians in need of care unavailable at home. As of May, nearly 4,000 visas had been issued to holders of Palestinian Authority passports, though many recipients lived outside Gaza. The new suspension halts future issuances and places current applicants in limbo.
The move drew sharp criticism from advocates for Palestinian rights. Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the decision underscores the cruelty of the administration’s policies. “Blocking Palestinian children injured by American weapons from coming to America for medical treatment is the latest sign that the intentional cruelty of President Trump’s ‘Israel First’ administration knows no bounds,” he said. Awad added, “It is also deeply ironic that the Trump administration would ban Palestinian children seeking treatment while rolling out the red carpet for racists and indicted war criminals from the Israeli government.”
International partners have also retreated from evacuation efforts. France recently froze its program to admit Palestinian patients after controversy involving a student accused of antisemitic posts online, leaving Gaza’s residents with even fewer avenues for treatment.
The administration’s decision also sits uneasily with President Trump’s own recent remarks on the crisis. Acknowledging reports of famine and desperation in Gaza, he told reporters last month, “I see it, and you can’t fake that. So, we’re going to be even more involved.” Yet suspending medical visas for children highlights a sharp disconnect between those words and the government’s current policies.
COMMENTS