The Trump administration reportedly moved swiftly over the weekend to halt all visitor visas for people from Gaza, a decision that came just one day after conservative activist Laura Loomer raised alarm about children and accompanying adults from the territory entering the United States for medical treatment.
The State Department said Saturday it would suspend the visas pending a review of how “a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas” were issued in recent days. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on CBS’s Face the Nation that the freeze came after “outreach from multiple congressional offices asking questions about it.”
Rubio emphasized that the issue was not the sick children themselves but the adults accompanying them. “There were just a small number of visas issued to children in need of medical aid,” he said. “But they were accompanied by adults.” According to Rubio, congressional offices presented evidence that “some of the organizations bragging about and involved in acquiring these visas have strong links to terrorist groups like Hamas.”
He did not name the groups or provide details but said the risks were serious enough to justify a pause.
“As a result, we are going to pause this program and reevaluate how those visas are being vetted and what relationship, if any, has there been by these organizations to the process of acquiring those visas,” Rubio said.
The controversy escalated Friday when Loomer posted videos on X showing children from Gaza arriving earlier this month in San Francisco and Houston with the help of an organization called HEAL Palestine.
Loomer accused the administration of quietly admitting Palestinians into the country despite assurances under President Donald Trump that the U.S. was “not accepting Palestinian refugees.”
She called the visas a “national security threat” and demanded accountability, tagging Rubio, Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Loomer’s influence has been disputed by Trump, who has played down her role in shaping his administration. Yet past criticisms from her have coincided with rapid staffing changes inside the government.
The State Department declined to say whether Loomer’s posts specifically triggered the decision to halt visas, or how many individuals had entered on them.
HEAL Palestine said Sunday it was “distressed” by the move. The group, which describes itself as “an American humanitarian nonprofit organization delivering urgent aid and medical care to children in Palestine,” said it has brought 15 children to the United States in the past two weeks for treatment. “This is a medical treatment program, not a refugee resettlement program,” the group said, stressing that children and families return to the Middle East once treatment concludes.
The World Health Organization has repeatedly urged more medical evacuations from Gaza, where hospitals have been devastated by Israel’s 22-month war against Hamas.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week that “more than 14,800 patients still need lifesaving medical care that is not available in Gaza.”
But for U.S. officials, the question is less about medical needs than security.
In a conflict where Hamas remains deeply embedded, critics argue that opening American borders—even under humanitarian cover—risks exposing the country to infiltration by groups tied to terrorism.
Rubio made clear the government’s priority: “reevaluate” first, then decide if the program can continue safely.
For now, the visas are halted, and questions remain about how close to home America’s Gaza policy may have already come.
[READ MORE: European Leaders to Join Zelensky at White House After Trump‑Putin Summit]
