The U.S. Department of State announced over the weekend all visitor visas from Gaza are being halted.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he has received complaints from lawmakers that organizations facilitating medical visits in the United States for children wounded from the war in Gaza may be a threat to national security.
“We’re going to reevaluate how those visas are being granted, not just to the children, but to the people who are accompanying them,” Rubio said.
Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Bay Area’s Council on American-Islamic Relations, calls the accusations unfounded.
“Every single person in the traveling party is subject to the already extreme vetting processes of our U.S. immigration system,” Billoo said. “The organizations bringing these children to the United States are registered nonprofit organizations right here in our country.”
NBC Bay Area’s Jodi Hernandez has more in the video report above.