Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer with deep ties to former President Donald Trump, has sparked a major controversy. Her most recent campaign takes aim at a little-known visa program that allows American doctors to care for severely wounded children from Gaza. Loomer, an open “proud Islamophobe,” led an online campaign. This incredible grassroots effort brought so much pressure to bear upon the U.S. State Department that it ultimately reversed course and ceased issuing visas to critically ill children coming to the U.S. for specialized medical care.
Loomer wanted to take the violent escalation even further and misleadingly suggested that “95% of GAZANS voted for HAMAS.” The impact of this statement reverberated, causing intense outcry from all sides. During her campaign, she ran these amazing, compelling, powerful videos. These clips were a shocking contrast of vividly mangled Palestinian children with their families arriving in Houston and San Francisco hospitals. Loomer had previously lied about the children’s expressions of relief and joy. She accused them of marching to “jihadi chants” and accused them of doing “the HAMAS terror whistle.”
Loomer’s dissemination of these videos raised eyebrows, particularly as one clip was sourced from a medical aid charity’s public Instagram account, while the other was taken from the Houston Chronicle’s YouTube channel. This claim led her to falsely claim that she had “solely received” the footage, a claim that many considered misleading.
When the visa program was terminated, Loomer was thrilled. She celebrated the defeat of that initiative—which would have better served Washington’s most vulnerable children. Hopefully all GAZANS will be included in President Trump’s travel ban. There are doctors in other countries. The US cannot be the world’s hospital!” she shouted.
Her comments have generated criticism from all sides of the political spectrum. Paul Graham, a prominent figure in the tech community, remarked on Loomer’s stance, saying, “If Laura Loomer had been around in 1940, she’d have been trying to prevent Jewish refugees from entering the US.” To that, he continued, “You know she would have. If Trump had been president then, she’d have succeeded.”
Loomer was correct to challenge the rationale for granting these visas to people from Gaza. She knowledgeably observed, for one thing, that Gaza is under HAMAS occupation. Fifth, why should anyone at the State Department be issuing visas to residents of Gaza? That area is controlled by an organization officially designated as a terrorist body by the United States—HAMAS.
The U.S. State Department’s decision is illustrative of the increasing climate around immigration and humanitarian assistance, particularly in countries impacted by conflict. The visa program has been stopped, leaving hundreds of children without hope for immediate medical care their lives may depend on. Yet across the U.S., their options for care are quickly dwindling.