{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-joins-41-democratic-colleagues-in-urging-state-department-to-resume-medical-and-humanitarian-visas-for-civilians-in-gaza/", "Padilla Joins 41\u00a0Democratic Colleagues in Urging State Department to\u00a0Resume\u00a0Medical and Humanitarian Visas for\u00a0Civilians\u00a0in Gaza", "2025-09-29", "2025", "2025-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Alex Padilla", "P000145", "www.padilla.senate.gov", "padilla", "https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and 39 other Democrats in demanding Secretary of State Marco Rubio reverse the State Department\u2019s blanket decision last month to suspend the issuance of temporary medical and humanitarian visas for civilians in Gaza in need of urgent medical care, including children with life-threatening injuries or conditions. The Senators also requested information on the Department\u2019s recent decision to restrict nonimmigrant visas for people who hold Palestinian passports.\n\n\u201cWe write with grave concern regarding the State Department\u2019s recent suspension of all visitor visas for eligible, vetted individuals from Gaza, including those in need of urgent medical care. We are also concerned by the unprecedented decision to abruptly refuse nonimmigrant visas to people with Palestinian passports. It is critical that the Department immediately reinstate temporary medical and humanitarian visas for Palestinian civilians in Gaza in order to save lives, resume nonimmigrant visas for eligible Palestinian passport holders, and double down on the work needed to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region,\u201d wrote the Senators.\n\n\u201cDuring the Biden and current Trump administrations, individuals from Gaza who met specific criteria set by the State Department have been granted temporary medical and humanitarian visas, allowing them to access life-saving medical treatment in the United States. These civilians include severely wounded children who are especially vulnerable and, through no fault of their own, have been caught in the crossfire and forced to endure horrible impacts from the war in Gaza. These children and their accompanying caretakers leaving Gaza to receive medical treatment are subject to strong vetting processes, including by the Israeli government, which look specifically at any potential security threats and known associations,\u201d continued the Senators.\n\nMedical facilities in Gaza are growing increasingly limited amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, and the region is facing acute shortages of medicines, medical supplies, and medical professionals, particularly those with expertise in complex specialties. Care has been delayed as a result, exacerbating the suffering of those in need.\n\nThe Senators requested a full explanation of the circumstances leading to this abrupt decision to suspend medical and humanitarian visas as well as specific issues, instances, or concerns identified, and a list of any cases of medical treatments that have been delayed as a result. Further, they requested information on what specific processes and procedures are being reviewed, the criteria being used to review them, when the State Department expects the reviews to be completed, and how the Department plans to ensure that access to emergency medical care for those eligible is not disrupted going forward.\n\n\u201cAs Secretary of State, we urge you to immediately reinstate the issuance of temporary medical and humanitarian visas in order to provide urgently needed life-saving civilian relief, resume issuing nonimmigrant visas for eligible individuals with Palestinian passports, and refocus U.S. efforts on achieving a lasting end to the conflict in Gaza that ensures security, peace, and prosperity for all in the region,\u201d concluded the Senators.\n\nIn addition to Padilla, Booker, and Schumer, the letter was also signed by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).\n\nIn July, Senator Padilla joined his colleagues led by Senators Schiff, Schatz, Schumer, and Rosen to express unified alarm about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, call for the large-scale expansion of humanitarian aid, and urge the Trump Administration to resume diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire agreement and end the war.\n\nFull text of the letter is available here and below:\n\nDear Secretary Rubio,\n\nWe write with grave concern regarding the State Department\u2019s recent suspension of all visitor visas for eligible, vetted individuals from Gaza, including those in need of urgent medical care. We are also concerned by the unprecedented decision to abruptly refuse nonimmigrant visas to people with Palestinian passports. It is critical that the Department immediately reinstate temporary medical and humanitarian visas for Palestinian civilians in Gaza in order to save lives, resume nonimmigrant visas for eligible Palestinian passport holders, and double down on the work needed to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region.\n\nDuring the Biden and current Trump administrations, individuals from Gaza who met specific criteria set by the State Department have been granted temporary medical and humanitarian visas, allowing them to access life-saving medical treatment in the United States. These civilians include severely wounded children who are especially vulnerable and, through no fault of their own, have been caught in the crossfire and forced to endure horrible impacts from the war in Gaza. These children and their accompanying caretakers leaving Gaza to receive medical treatment are subject to strong vetting processes, including by the Israeli government, which look specifically at any potential security threats and known associations. Despite this rigorous vetting and extreme need for lifesaving treatment, on August 16, the State Department announced that \u201call visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped\u201d pending a \u201creview of the processes and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days.\u201d We are deeply concerned that this blanket decision prevents a viable pathway to critical care for individuals who qualify for temporary medical and humanitarian visas, including children with life-threatening injuries or conditions, worsening an already dire humanitarian crisis.\n\nAccess to functioning medical facilities in Gaza has grown increasingly limited, and acute shortages of medicines, medical supplies, and medical professionals, particularly those with expertise in complex specialties, delays care and exacerbates the suffering of those in need. Doctors Without Borders/M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res (MSF) has reported that emergency rooms have been \u201covercrowded\u201d and health facilities are running over capacity. The State Department\u2019s decision to indefinitely pause the visa process places eligible and vulnerable civilians in a life-threatening position of further uncertainty, likely causing preventable deaths. Therefore, we request a full explanation of the circumstances leading to this abrupt decision, including any specific issues, instances, or concerns identified, and a list of any cases of medical treatments that have been delayed as a result. Further, we request information on what specific processes and procedures are being reviewed, the criteria being used to review them, when you expect the reviews to be completed, and how the Department plans to ensure that access to emergency medical care for those eligible is not disrupted going forward.\n\nMore recently, the State Department made another broad decision to refuse nonimmigrant visas for individuals who would otherwise be eligible but hold passports issued by the Palestinian Authority, using a mechanism that is usually applied narrowly in specific circumstances where further documentation is required from a visa applicant. Those receiving nonimmigrant visas also go through a vetting process and often travel to the U.S. for university studies, business, and visits with family and friends. The State Department has not communicated the reasoning behind the abrupt change in procedure nor a timeframe for lifting this categorical visa restriction. As a result, we also request a full explanation of the circumstances leading to the suspension of nonimmigrant visas for people with Palestinian passports, including any specific issues or concerns identified and how they are being addressed, and when the Department plans to resume processing and approving these visas.\n\nAs Secretary of State, we urge you to immediately reinstate the issuance of temporary medical and humanitarian visas in order to provide urgently needed life-saving civilian relief, resume issuing nonimmigrant visas for eligible individuals with Palestinian passports, and refocus U.S. efforts on achieving a lasting end to the conflict in Gaza that ensures security, peace, and prosperity for all in the region.\n\nSincerely,\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:10:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-joins-41-democratic-colleagues-in-urging-state-department-to-resume-medical-and-humanitarian-visas-for-civilians-in-gaza/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1023958213627338, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}