Hamas Immigration - Updated

How does this benefit the United States?

Something happened... H.R. 1388 was passed yesterday, behind our backs. You may want to read about it. It wasn't mentioned on the news... just went by on the ticker tape at the bottom of the CNN screen.

It doesn't.

The bill pipelines Hamas refugees to the U.S. via $20 million in migration assistance.


[Update 5/16/09]

As noted by JR in Comments, Snopes disputes the contention that Hamas refugees in Gaza are being given migration assistance.

This order simply authorized a contribution of up to $20.3 million from the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) Fund to meet urgent "humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza."

It did not, as claimed above, approve or authorize any Palestinians or Gazans — much less "hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with ties to Hamas" — to migrate to, or resettle in, the United States.

According to Snopes, the money is going to the UN ($19.5 million) and the International Red Cross ($800,000) for emergency food assistance, providing medical assistance and temporary shelter, creating temporary employment, and restoring access to electricity and potable water to the people of Gaza. The money was authorized by President Obama based on the determination that "it is important to the national interest."

As a result, it's disputable as to exactly what the money will be used for since it goes to the UN (and I would contend that the place is a black hole). However, the official line is that the funds are for food, medical and shelter assistance for Gazans and providing for their welfare is in the national interest of the United States. Therefore, the contention that the money will be used to facilitate Hamas-connected Palestinians immigrating to the U.S. is not supported.

Also not supported is how any of the expenditure is in the U.S. national interest. Without being an inside-the-beltway scholar, I don't have access to the secret shadow Constitution which contains the Daddy Warbucks clause.

In any event, it is probably unfair to specifically criticize President Obama for the expenditure since other administrations have done the same. It doesn't make it right, it just means it's business as usual in Washington.

This reminds me of a often-quoted P.J. O'Rourke saying (I'm paraphrasing), "Sending money to Washington is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." Heh.