US Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security, Amos Hochstein, announced on Friday President Joe Biden’s decision to provide some 11,500 eligible Lebanese nationals with a Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) allowing them to remain in the US regardless of their visa expiry and their status, and to eventually apply for work permits.
“This decision was taken because of the ongoing conflict that is affecting Lebanon, the economic crisis that got worse after the port explosion and as a result of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has taken an even worse turn,” Hochstein said in an online White House update on Lebanon.
He stressed that today’s presidential decision “is not an indication of the imminence of a wide escalation.” “We have been considering it for a while and it is based on what is happening now and what happened in the past, though we want to see an end to the conflict now, but this won’t happen in days or even weeks.”
In response to a question by This is Beirut, Hochstein stressed that Washington will continue to deploy “as much efforts as possible” to contain the conflict along the Lebanese-Israeli border from escalating, after conceding that Hezbollah is adamant on tying it to an end of the war in Gaza.
“There is no reason why we have to have fighting along the Lebanese-Israeli border and why that can’t stop now before a deal with Gaza. But I accept realities as they are and I have continued to try to negotiate for as much security, peace and calm along that border, while the work on Gaza is going on,” the US official added.
He stressed that the US in not merely seeking a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, but “a comprehensive arrangement” under which “the people who are guarding and safeguarding Lebanon from invasions are the Lebanese armed forces.” “The US is the single largest contributor to the LAF. It has been and will continue to help build the army, to recruit more, train and deploy to the South.”
Commenting on the meeting between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which he attended, Hochstein said the American president was very clear in underlining the urgency of reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.
“We also discussed Lebanon and the need to bring the conflict to an end, which I believe could be done through diplomatic means. This is a conflict that serves no one and should stop, but if we don’t have a clear path towards a diplomatic solution, eventually this could lead to an extended conflict… It is a real fear and concern,” he added.
In a related development, the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), a leadership organization of Americans of Lebanese descent, commended President Biden for signing the DED directive for Lebanese nationals in the United States.
The president has “determined that it is in the foreign policy interest of the United States to defer for 18 months the removal of any Lebanese national,” ATFL said in a statement.
Since the start of Lebanon’s economic crisis, ATFL has been calling for President Biden to declare Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or DED to protect Lebanese nationals in the US, from having to return to an increasingly unstable country.
“We want to thank President Biden for standing with the Lebanese people today,” said ATFL President Ed Gabriel. “Today’s directive sends a powerful message to the Lebanese people that they are not forgotten.”
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