Gaza has been besieged for 14 months. The US has hardly accepted any refugees

Palestinians seeking urgent protection in the US must navigate a Kafkaesque system that's unique to them - and it could get worse under Trump

Ali Aljamal came to the US from the Gaza Strip in September 2023 as a 15-year-old exchange student through the Yes program, a competitive scholarship run by the state department.

My goodbye to Gaza was not enough," said Ali, speaking over the phone from Redding, California. An eager and organized young man - Ali was the youngest in his cohort - he was so keen to have a breather from the war zone environment in Gaza" that he didn't say goodbye to the beach or his friends before coming to the US.