The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 1st, 2024: Palestinian Refugees In America & Police End Campus Chaos At Columbia

Episode Date: May 1, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    The Biden Administration is mulling plans to offer Palestinian refugees safe haven in the United States in a move that is sure to stir controversy, and will likely further strain ties between the U.S. and Israel. We’ll bring you the latest from the anti-Israel chaos engulfing university campuses across the country, as Columbia finally called in police to clear demonstrators and arrest hundreds of agitators who had taken over an academic building and occupied school grounds. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Get up to 40% off at shopbeam.com slash PDB and use the code PDB. It's Wednesday, the 1st of May. Look at that. It's a brand new month. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, the Biden administration is considering

plans to offer Palestinian refugees safe haven in the United States in a move that is, well, probably going to stir controversy and will likely further strain ties between the U.S. and Israel. Also, law enforcement descended on the campuses of several universities across the country last night, clearing anti-Israel protesters and arresting hundreds of outside agitators, non-student activists, and look, even some actual students, who had taken over academic buildings and occupied school grounds. But first, our afternoon spotlight. The Biden administration is considering plans to relocate Palestinians to the U.S. as refugees,

a move that would give Palestinians in war-torn Gaza a permanent safe haven in America. The idea has been floating around among senior officials at several federal U.S. agencies in recent weeks, who've been reportedly debating the practicality of such an endeavor. The specific details of the proposals aren't available yet, but according to an exclusive report from CBS News, the primary plan under consideration would be limited in scale, applying only to Palestinians with immediate family members who are American citizens or permanent residents.

Another proposal being considered, however, would reportedly expand admittance to Palestinians with any American relatives, whether or not they are immediate family. We should note that either plan would need to be coordinated with Egypt, which has so far refused to officially accept Palestinian refugees into their country. The proposal would mark a first for the U.S. refugee program if implemented. Since it began in 1980, the U.S. refugee admission. program has never resettled Palestinians en masse. Of the roughly 400,000 refugees relocated to the U.S. over the past decade, less than 600 have been Palestinian. The proposal will also likely further strain relations between the Biden administration and leaders in Israel. Under the refugee program, prospective candidates must provide proof that they are fleeing persecution based on

nationality, religious beliefs, or political views. If the plan moves forward, Palestinian candidates would have the option of claiming to be fleeing persecution from Israel. It's unclear if this would cause any diplomatic fallout, you think, but we imagine that Israel will not take too kindly to such an action from their top international ally. We should also note that these plans are far from final. If implemented, the report claims the refugees would have to clear an intensive screening process. It would reportedly include eligibility, medical, and security screenings, in addition to providing proof of the persecution that they are attempting to flee. Or they could.

They could just come across the U.S. southern border and avoid all that pesky vetting and screening. Sorry, that was churlish of me, I suppose. If they clear the screenings, however, they would be granted permanent residency, be given resettlement benefits such as housing assistance, and be put on a path to receive a marriage. American citizenship. Now, at a time when U.S. intelligence agencies are regularly sounding the alarm on the risk of a terror attack inside the U.S. due to America's poorest southern border, oh, up there, I mentioned it again, it's also worth remembering the attitudes of those we may soon be welcoming with open arms. Following the Savage 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian Center

for Policy Survey and Research conducted a poll of the civilian population in government. Gaza to gauge attitudes regarding the massacre. Now, the poll released in December found that a staggering 72 percent of respondents supported Hamas, with only 22 percent expressing disagreement. So it sounds like they should fit right in on U.S. college campuses. Republican Senator Tim Scott reacted to the report with a fiery condemnation on Tuesday evening, calling the proposals reckless, according to the New York Post. Scott said, quote, President Biden, consistently undermines our national security with reckless decisions like this. We have no clue who is coming into our country, whether on our southern border or from war-torn

regions run by terrorists. Not a single Hamas sympathizer, he said, should be led into this country, and I will use every resource at my disposal to ensure this radical Biden policy never sees the light of day, end quote. Coming up after the break, we'll bring you the latest from the anti-Israel chaos at university campuses across the country. as Columbia University finally called in police to clear demonstrators and arrest hundreds of agitators. I'll be right back. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day, like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With USAA, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%.

Tap the banner to learn more and get a quote at usa.com slash bundle. Restrictions apply. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. It was coast-to-coast chaos over the past 24 hours as law enforcement moved to clear out anti-Israel protesters on multiple college campuses across the country. We'll start in Manhattan, where members of the New York Police Department stormed Columbia's Hamilton Hall, which had been broken into and occupied by a group of activists since Tuesday morning. Police entered through a second floor window and discovered a chaotic scene inside the building.

There were broken windows, overturned soda machines, couches, chairs, and other furniture that the occupiers had been using as makeshift, barricades. Now, it's hard to imagine that a gaggle of low-information activists, or whatever the correct term is, wouldn't take the time to tidy up their occupied building before the police arrived for a visit. Officers managed to retake the building without injuries, and about 40 agitators were taken into custody. They'll be charged with third-degree burglary, criminal mischief, and trespassing, and wouldn't it be interesting if the NYPD would provide some transparency on how many of those arrested are actual students and how many have no affiliation with the university.

Police and riot gear also moved on the campus' tent encampment, which was quickly cleared out. In total, the NYPD reports that close to 300 protesters were arrested last night. Now, Columbia University President Manus Shafice sent a letter to the NYPD before last night's operation commenced. In it, Shafik claimed that the individuals responsible for Hamilton Hall's occupation were outside agitators. and asked for the police department's assistance in restoring order to the campus. Columbia University has asked the NYPD to maintain a presence on the campus until mid-May in order to maintain order and ensure that the protest encampments are not re-established.

Now, less than a mile away from Columbia, dozens more were arrested at the City College of New York, where anti-Israel protesters had attacked members of the NYPD. And moving on to the West Coast, where officers with the Los Angeles Police Department descended on the campus of UCLA. The chaos on that campus began around 11 p.m. last evening when pro-Israel counter-protesters clashed with student demonstrators. There have been reports of pipes, tasers, and bear spray being used during the violent confrontations. Bear spray? That's a solid move. The LAPD was finally sent

to the campus early this morning at the request of UCLA officials to restore order. Police also arrested 32 protesters at California State Polytechnic University, where agitators had occupied two buildings on campus last week. The arrests included 13 students and one faculty member, which would imply, if my math is somewhat correct, that over half of those arrested there were non-students or outside agitators, and that campus will remain closed until the 10th of May. A number of protests were also broken up at universities down south, including the university. of South Florida where 10 people were taken into custody, and Tulane University in New Orleans, where 14 were arrested. Now, here's a thought. How about while the arrested are in detention,

the authorities have them watched the various videos shot by Hamas terrorists themselves during their 7 October slaughter in southern Israel? I mean, they might as well use their brief time behind bars to learn something. Clearly, it's not happening in their classrooms. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Wednesday 1 May. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. And remember, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.