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U.S. President Joe Biden said in a memo on Friday that the White House will provide deportation relief and work permits to the approximately 11,500 Lebanese nationals already in the United States due to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The measure allows Lebanese nationals to stay in the United States for 18 months, renewable, under the authority of “deferred mandatory departure.”
The move came after Vice President Kamala Harris, who has emerged as a possible Democratic presidential candidate after Biden ended his campaign on Sunday, pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to help broker a ceasefire in Gaza aimed at alleviating suffering for Palestinian civilians, striking a tougher tone than Biden.
On October 7, Hezbollah’s ally Hamas attacked communities along Israel’s southern border, sparking an Israeli military offensive into the Gaza Strip. Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah announced a “front of support” with the Palestinians, and fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began.
Hezbollah is an Iran-backed militant group and the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan, a state that is home to a large Lebanese-American population in places like Detroit, praised the move and estimated it would cover 11,500 people.
“Michigan is home to many Lebanese Americans who have watched their families suffer as Lebanon faces an unprecedented economic, political and financial catastrophe,” she said in a statement.
Former President Donald Trump, a Republican seeking reelection to the White House, has pledged mass deportations if re-elected. His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally.
On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, 1 foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers were killed.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated on both sides of the border.
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