In a move that has drawn swift and widespread condemnation from humanitarian groups, the U.S. State Department has announced a halt to all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza, effectively severing a critical lifeline for critically ill and injured Palestinians seeking life-saving medical care. The decision, which the department said is a temporary measure for a “full and thorough review,” follows a public pressure campaign led by a far-right political activist.
The announcement was made via a post on the social media platform X, stating that the pause on visas would allow for a review of the “process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days.” While the State Department did not specify the number of visas affected, an analysis of public data shows that in 2025, the U.S. had issued more than 3,800 B1/B2 visitor visas, which can be used for medical treatment, to holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents.
The policy shift came just hours after far-right activist and a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump, Laura Loomer, went on a social media tirade, alleging that “unvetted” Palestinians, including children, were entering the United States for medical treatment. Loomer, who has close ties to some Republican lawmakers, called the humanitarian flights a “national security threat” and demanded that the administration “shut this abomination down.”
Humanitarian and civil rights organizations have condemned the decision in the strongest possible terms, warning of a devastating impact on a population already facing a “full-scale famine.” The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), which has been evacuating thousands of Palestinian children for over 30 years, said in a statement that the decision would have a “devastating and irreversible impact on our ability to bring injured and critically ill children from Gaza to the United States for life-saving medical treatment.” The group emphasized that these medical evacuations are a “lifeline” due to the near-total collapse of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) echoed these sentiments, labeling the visa halt as “the latest sign that the intentional cruelty of President Trump’s ‘Israel First’ administration knows no bounds.”
The State Department’s decision also appears to be a reversal of a previous humanitarian effort. Just weeks ago, a nonprofit called HEAL Palestine had announced a “historic milestone,” completing what it called the “largest single medical evacuation of injured children from Gaza to the U.S.” many of whom had lost limbs or suffered severe burns.
While the administration has framed the move as a security precaution, critics argue that it is a political capitulation to a small but vocal group of right-wing voices. The move removes one of the only remaining avenues for critically wounded Palestinians, many of whom are children, to escape a war-torn region where medical care is virtually non-existent. For them, the temporary pause on visas could be a permanent death sentence.