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Palestinian Arabs

Laura Loomer Claims Credit for State Department Decision to Halt Visitor Visas for Palestinians

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and self-proclaimed ultra-loyalist of former President Donald Trump, has praised herself on social media for allegedly influencing the State Department's decision to halt visitor visas for Palestinians from Gaza. The decision was announced on August 16, 2025, just a day after Loomer shared a series of videos from the medical charity Heal Gaza that showed children injured by Israeli bombings being treated in the U.S. Loomer claimed that she had "saved so many American citizens from being killed by pro-HAMAS jihadis" and "blown the whistle on rogue actors at State Department giving visas to Gazan families."

Key Takeaways:

  • Loomer has claimed credit for the sacking or resignation of more than a dozen people within the government, and has reportedly been influential in key policy decisions under the Trump administration.
  • The State Department announced a pause on visitor visas for individuals from Gaza to conduct a "full and thorough review" of the process for granting medical-humanitarian visas.
  • Heal Gaza, the organization that originally posted the videos, describes itself as a "non-political, non-profit organization" founded in January 2024 in response to the "unimaginable devastation in Gaza."
  • Loomer claims that the work of Heal Gaza is not charitable in nature but a covert means to "facilitate chain migration," and that there are people who want to "invade our country and bring HAMAS supporters to our country under the guise of 'humanitarianism'."
  • The U.S. has issued some 3,800 B1/B2 visitor visas to people with Palestinian Authority travel documents, allowing foreigners to receive medical treatment in the country.
  • Reports suggest that more than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed since the violence in the territory broke out in October 2023.

Statistics:

  • 3,800: The number of B1/B2 visitor visas issued to people with Palestinian Authority travel documents, allowing foreigners to receive medical treatment in the U.S.
  • 61,000: The number of Palestinians killed since the violence in the territory broke out in October 2023.
  • 2024: The year in which Heal Gaza, the organization that originally posted the videos, was founded in response to the "unimaginable devastation in Gaza."
  • 2023: The year in which the violence in the territory broke out, resulting in the deaths of over 61,000 Palestinians.

Sources:

  • [1] @LauraLoomer Twitter post: "Today I saved so many American citizens from being killed by pro-HAMAS jihadis. God only knows how many lives I personally saved today by blowing the whistle on rogue actors at State Department giving visas to Gazan families." (August 17, 2025)
  • [2] @StateDept Twitter post: "All visitor visas for individuals from Gaza are being stopped while we conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days." (August 16, 2025)
  • [3] "How Far-Right Activist Laura Loomer Is Shaping the Trump Administration" (PBS NewsHour, no date)
  • [4] "Laura Loomer congratulates herself for personally saving Americans from Hamas" (The Daily Beast, no date)
  • [5] "US stops visitor visas for people from Gaza" (New Arab, no date)

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