US suspends Gazan visas after far-right influencer’s outcry

The US suspended visitor visas for Gazans after a a far-right influencer close to Donald Trump attacked the State Department online for allowing wounded Palestinians into the country for treatment, as reported by Al-Monitor via AFP on August 16th.

The influencer, Laura Loomer, posted a series of hostile posts which were followed by the move from the US.

Loomer, notorious for pushing racist conspiracy theories and alleging the 9/11 attacks were staged, targeted the charity HEAL Palestine. The organisation had recently arranged the evacuation of 11 severely injured children from Gaza, alongside their carers and siblings, as thousands more children suffer by starvation, death or loss of limbs. The organisation calls it “the largest single medical evacuation of injured children from Gaza to the US.”

With the upcoming Israeli-backed evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza, medical assistance could not be more vital than now. As Gazans continue to starve and aid distribution stations are regularly hit with Israeli attacks, there is an decreasing chance of escape for Palestinians.

On X, Loomer demanded the government halts visas for Palestinians she labelled “pro-HAMAS” and “affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and funded by Qatar.” She offered no evidence for the accusations. She insisted that “someone needs to be fired at @StateDept when @marcorubio figures out who approved the visas.”

Loomer later claimed she had spoken with the staff of Republican Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, and that they were “also looking into how these GAZANS got visas to come into the US.”

Considering the US president’s ability to impede the current conflict through US global power and influence, even ex-Israeli officials have called on Trump to stop the Gaza war. But the fact that US government policy can be so easily influenced by an influencer, should further concern the international community.

The State Department, which is under the leadership of Marco Rubio, confirmed the freeze on X, stating: “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.”

Republican Congressman Randy Fine publicly praised Loomer after the suspension. Fine said: “Massive credit needs to be given to @LauraLoomer for uncovering this and making me and other officials aware. Well done, Laura.”

Loomer has influenced the US government before. She attacked a Biden-era official’s West Point military academy appointment in July, prompting the Pentagon to cancel it. And she purportedly urged Trump to dismiss senior National Security Agency leaders, Timothy Haugh and Wendy Noble – who were ultimately fired in April.

Al-Monitor via AFP, Maghrebi.org