No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act (H.R. 176) Passes House Judiciary Committee
H.R. 176 authored by Rep. McClintock today passed the House Judiciary Committee.
The Congressman delivered the following remarks at the hearing in support of the legislation:
Statement on H.R. 176
No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act
February 26, 2025
Mr. Chairman:
Although our political differences these days are vast, there are still some things we came together on in this committee during the last session, and one of them was an enduring opposition to Hamas and the terrorism they unleashed on innocent civilians in Israel a little over 500 days ago.
Just last week, the barbaric inhumanity of Hamas was revealed again in the macabre and infuriating spectacle of returning the bodies of the Bibas family. We last saw Shiri alive on October 7th 2023 as she was seized, terrified and sobbing, begging for the lives of her two little boys as they were dragged into the hell on Earth that Hamas created. Last week, their murdered bodies were returned as trophies, and later we learned in a final act of cruelty, that Sheri’s body had been substituted for another.
We all came together on this committee last year and said that such monsters as these should never be admitted into our country, never given safe haven on our soil, and never tolerated when we find them.
HR 176 says that anyone associated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in any capacity, or anyone who assisted their terrorist activities in any form, will not be allowed in this country under any circumstances, will be immediately removed if we find them here, and under no circumstances will we allow them to receive any immigration benefit under our laws.
For reasons I find inexplicable, the Senate couldn’t be bothered to take up this bill in the last session. Hopefully, they will find the time in this session.
Under current law, being a member of Hamas or being associated with its barbaric attack against Israel is not an explicit ground of inadmissibility or removability. That’s not good enough. Anyone who gave them support in any form should never be allowed in this country.
During the Biden years, the number of known or suspected terrorists encountered at the Southern border soared to 392. Too many were allowed into the country. How many more were among the two million known got-aways is anybody’s guess.
After the October 7 attacks, Director Wray warned that the FBI “cannot and [does] not discount the possibility that Hamas…could exploit the conflict to call on their supporters to conduct attacks on our own soil.”
In the last month, we recorded a 95 percent reduction in illegal border crossings, thanks to President Trump’s determination to protect our country and secure our borders. This bill will give them an additional tool to quickly remove dangerous foreign nationals from our soil. And it will make it impossible for future presidents to waive in these monsters to take residence in our communities.
This bill sends an important message around the world: if you have associated with Hamas, you will get no comfort or quarter here. You are persona non grata in America, as you should be in any corner of the world that values peace, justice, and human dignity.
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