The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to address whether he spoke directly with anti-Muslim extremist Laura Loomer, as she claims, before banning Palestinian children injured by American weapons in Gaza from seeking medical care in the U.S. and condemned his decision.
A day after Loomer posted videos on social media complaining about children from Gaza arriving in the U.S. for medical treatment and questioning how they obtained visas, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review.
In a tweet, Loomer thanked Senator Rubio for halting the visas. The New York Times reported that Loomer said she spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday night to alert him to the flights and what she called the threat of an “Islamic invasion.”
SEE: U.S. Pauses Visitor Visas for Gazans After Laura Loomer Posts – The New York Times
Trump administration halts visas for people from Gaza after Laura Loomer questions arrivals
CAIR’s call comes as an Amnesty International report charges Israel with enacting a “deliberate policy” of starvation in Gaza and as video shows a top Israeli official openly calling for genocide in Gaza.
SEE: New testimonies reveal Israel’s starvation of Palestinians in Gaza is deliberate policy
Five Palestinians have died due to forced starvation in the past 24 hours alone, including two children.
In a statement, CAIR Deputy Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“We strongly condemn Marco Rubio for taking direction from Laura Loomer and we call on him to address whether her reported claim that they spoke directly is true. By caving to Loomer’s pressure and banning Palestinian children injured by American weapons from seeking specialized medical care in America, Secretary Rubio has effectively given a notoriously unhinged bigot and her online mob veto power of State Department policy. This is insanity from Secretary Rubio, someone once considered a serious public official. Will Secretary Rubio start taking calls from David Duke next?”
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com