U.S. OFFERS LEBANESE NATIONALS DEPORTATION RELIEF AMID ISRAELI ATTACKS
July 29, 2024The White House will offer deportation relief and work permits to an estimated 11,500 Lebanese nationals already in the U.S., due to conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, U.S. President Joe Biden said in a memo.
The measure, under an authority known as Deferred Enforced Departure, will allow Lebanese nationals to remain in the U.S. for 18 months and could be renewed.
The announcement comes after Vice President Kamala Harris pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to help reach a Gaza cease-fire deal that would ease the suffering of Palestinian civilians, striking a tougher tone than Biden.
U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan, which is home to Lebanese Americans in Detroit and elsewhere, applauded the move and estimated it would cover 11,500 people.
“Michigan is home to many Lebanese Americans who continue to watch their families suffer as Lebanon faces an unprecedented economic, political, and financial disaster,” she said in a statement.
@haaretz
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