Trump Admin Halts Visas For Wounded Gazans After Laura Loomer Complains

The State Department announced on Saturday morning that it was halting all visitor visas to people coming in from Gaza to “conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures” which were being used to issue a “small” number of visas to those seeking medical care, according to a post on X from the federal agency.

The move comes less than 17 hours after Laura Loomer, a far-right, anti-Muslim commentator close to President Donald Trump who has said she’s “pro-white nationalism,” complained online about Palestinians seeking medical care after being wounded by Israel’s continued offensive in the region.

“How is allowing for Islamic immigrants to come into the US America First policy?” she asked on X. “The jew hating GAZA first idiots pretend to be America First but they are America last. They want the US to be flooded with Muslims pretending to be refugees so they can cancel out our votes,” she continued, adding, “I don’t care if they are kids. The US is full.”

Since Friday, Loomer has gone on a posting spree, claiming, without evidence, that an “Islamist” in the State Department “is supporting terrorism or fast tracking visas for Islamists.” After the department announced that they were halting visas to those fleeing violence in Gaza, Loomer was quick to thank Secretary Marco Rubio and take credit for his agency’s decision, writing that she “saved so many American citizens from being killed by pro-HAMAS jihadis.”

According to an analysis by NBC News of monthly figures provided on the State Department’s website, the United States has “issued more than 3,800 B1/B2 visitor visas, which permit foreigners to seek medical treatment in the United States, to holders of the Palestinian Authority travel document so far in 2025.” In May, 640 visas were issued. The department’s numbers do not clarify how many of those visas were given to Gazans and how many people were from the West Bank in Palestine.

The Palestinian people coming into the US to seek medical care are fleeing a worsening situation in Gaza and the West Bank—one funded by American tax dollars and supported by the Trump administration. The president has repeatedly talked about taking over the Gaza Strip, potentially by force, and turning it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

“I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable,” Trump said in a February press conference following a White House meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal,” he continued, adding, “we’ll do a job with it, too. We’ll own it.”

Currently, 86 percent of the Gaza Strip is a “no-go” area or “Israel-ordered displacement zone,” per Al Jazeera, after Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan by Netanyahu for the military occupation of Gaza City in early August.

According to a tracker from Al Jazeera based on figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israel’s military action has killed at least 61,944 people, including at least 18,430 children. More than 155,885 people have been wounded due to Israel’s offensive. The deaths from starvation are rising following Israel’s March blockade of food and humanitarian aid and the military’s ongoing control of what supplies are allowed into Palestine.

Per polling from Gallup, Americans’ approval of Israel’s military action in Gaza is the lowest it’s been since the analytics company first asked the question in November 2023, one month after the October 7 Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,200 people. Disapproval by Americans of the military action by Israeli forces in Palestine has now reached 60 percent.

“As has been the case since the start of the conflict,” the Gallup report reads, “independents (25%) express higher approval than Democrats (8%), but both groups currently register their lowest readings to date. In contrast, 71% of Republicans say they approve of Israel’s action in Gaza, up from 66% in September.”

This disapproval was felt in New York City on Saturday as thousands joined a “Stop Starving Gaza” protest and march. More than 200 organizations took part in the event, per CBS. Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist who was held by the Trump administration in an ICE detention facility for 104 days, kicked off the rally. “In what world is the starvation of an entire population of people normal?” Khalil said, going on to quote Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif, who was killed last week in a deliberate Israeli attack on a media tent.

Following the State Department’s move to halt visas on Saturday, aid groups quickly urged the US to reverse its decision.

“This will have a devastating and irreversible impact on our ability to bring injured and critically ill children from Gaza to the US for lifesaving medical treatment,” The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund said. “This is extremely devastating news,” Tareq Hailat, the director of Global Patient Affairs at the PCRF, told Al Jazeera. “The impact of this decision will be devastating. And the US must honestly reverse this decision immediately.”

HEAL Palestine, a group that coordinates evacuations for injured children and their families to the US, says it has assisted 148 people so far, among them 63 children in need of urgent care. They were “distressed” by the State Department’s decision. In a statement, they contradicted the implication that Palestinians seeking medical care were a part of a larger resettlement program, writing that after the temporary visa holders receive medical care “not available at home,” they “return to the Middle East.”

Loomer’s recent reported influence on the State Department isn’t the first time she’s had a direct line to President Trump and his administration. In April, Trump fired six national security aides after Loomer expressed dissatisfaction with some members of the team in a meeting with the president. In July, April Falcon Doss, a lawyer for the National Security Agency, was removed from her position after Loomer amplified criticism of her, according to The New York Times. Other government officials have reportedly been ousted or stepped down following Loomer’s attacks on them.

“It’s amazing how fast we can get results from the Trump administration,” Loomer wrote Saturday morning on X, followed by the clapping emoji.