No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act
The No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to deny immigration benefits to aliens who carried out, participated in, planned, financed, supported, or otherwise facilitated the October 2023 attacks against Israel. The bill expands grounds of inadmissibility to include Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leadership and related actors, and it denies relief under immigration laws to those individuals. It also requires a new annual report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to Congress detailing the number of people affected by these provisions. The measure is introduced in the Senate (S. 762) by Senators Blackburn and Rosen and is labeled with the short title “No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act.” In practical terms, if enacted, the bill would make it harder for people connected to Hamas/PIJ activities related to the October 7, 2023 attacks to enter the United States or to obtain immigration relief once in the U.S. It broadens who is deemed inadmissible and removes several avenues of relief that might otherwise be available, while adding a Congress-facing annual tracking requirement for enforcement agencies.
Key Points
- 1Expands inadmissibility grounds at INA 212(a)(3) to cover Hamas/PIJ leadership and adds a new ground (H) for aliens who carried out, participated in, planned, financed, afforded material support to, or facilitated attacks inititated by Hamas starting October 7, 2023 against Israel.
- 2Updates INA 212(a)(3)(B)(i) by inserting senior members and by adding explicit references to officers, official representatives, members, or spokesmen of Hamas and PIJ, in addition to existing references such as to the PLO.
- 3Adds ineligibility for relief at INA 241(b)(3) (new subsection D) for aliens described above, barring relief under immigration laws including asylum, withholding, and other relief programs and related regulations.
- 4Makes a conforming amendment to INA 237(a)(4)(B) to add the new ground (H) to the list of ineligible bases for removal/denial of admission.
- 5Requires an annual DHS report to Congress (within one year of enactment and every year thereafter) identifying the number of aliens inadmissible under the new ground and those removable under the expanded provisions.