Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Palestinians: Key Insights

President Biden directed the deferral of removal of certain Palestinians who are present in the United States. The United States will defer for 18 months the removal of any Palestinian subject to the conditions and exceptions provided in the memo. Those not included are those who have voluntarily returned to the Palestinian territories after the date of this memorandum; who have not continuously resided in the United States since the date of this memorandum; who are inadmissible under section 212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)) or deportable under section 237(a)(4) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(4));who have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States, or who meet any of the criteria set forth in section 208(b)(2)(A) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(2)(A)); who are subject to extradition; whose presence in the United States the Secretary of Homeland Security has determined is not in the interest of the United States or presents a danger to public safety; or whose presence in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States. He also authorized employment for noncitizens whose removal has been deferred, as provided by this memorandum, for the duration of such deferral.