Pro-Hamas agitators here in the country on student visas don't appear to have much longer to carry on with their protests in the United States. Even after President Donald Trump has spoken out against "illegal" protests being allowed to carry on at institutions of higher learning, with threats of defunding being brought up, schools like Barnard College still continue to be taken over by terrorist sympathizers. It looks like action is finally coming, with an announcement from the State Department and Secretary Marco Rubio.
"Those who support designated terrorist organizations, including Hamas, threaten our national security," Rubio's post from Thursday reminded. "The United States has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists. Violators of U.S. law — including international students — face visa denial or revocation, and deportation."
Those who support designated terrorist organizations, including Hamas, threaten our national security. The United States has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists. Violators of U.S. law — including international students — face visa denial or revocation, and…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 6, 2025
Also on Thursday, Axios put out a report citing State Department officials on how the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be used to identify students with terrorist sympathies:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is launching an AI-fueled "Catch and Revoke" effort to cancel the visas of foreign nationals who appear to support Hamas or other designated terror groups, senior State Department officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: The effort — which includes AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders' social media accounts — marks a dramatic escalation in the U.S. government's policing of foreign nationals' conduct and speech.
- The reviews of social media accounts are particularly looking for evidence of alleged terrorist sympathies expressed after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, officials say.
The report also mentions a sharp contrast given the inaction from the previous Biden-Harris administration. Such inaction was seen even as Rubio, then a senator, almost immediately after the October 7, 2023 attack that Hamas perpetrated against Israel reminded that the secretary of state has authority under legislation from 1952 to revoke visas:
Officials plan to examine internal databases to see whether any visa holders were arrested but allowed to stay in the country during the Biden administration.
- They say they're also checking news reports of anti-Israel demonstrations and Jewish students' lawsuits that highlight foreign nationals allegedly engaged in antisemitic activity without consequence.
- The State Department is working with the departments of Justice and Homeland Security in what one senior State official called a "whole of government and whole of authority approach."
Zoom in: To launch "Catch and Revoke," federal officials examined 100,000 people in the Student Exchange Visitor System since October 2023 to see if any visas had been revoked because the student been arrested or suspended from school.
- Usually, a consular official whose office issues the visa for a foreigner makes the revocation decision once they've been alerted about an arrest or a suspension.
- "We found literally zero visa revocations during the Biden administration," the official said, "... which suggests a blind eye attitude toward law enforcement."
Zoom out: The Immigration Nationality Act of 1952 gives the secretary of state the authority to revoke visas from foreigners deemed to be a threat —a point Rubio made as a senator eight days after Oct. 7.
- "We see people marching at our universities and in the streets of our country ... calling for Intifada, celebrating what Hamas has done ... Those people need to go," Rubio said.
- Trump echoed the same sentiments in a Jan. 30 White House fact sheet tied to an executive order aimed at antisemitism at "pro-Hamas" activity: "To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice. We will find you, and we will deport you."
- Another executive order, issued Jan. 20, targets visa holders and foreigners who "threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology."
...
The senior State Department official, however, said that "it would be negligent for the department that takes national security seriously to ignore publicly available information about [visa] applicants in terms of AI tools. ... AI is one of the resources available to the government that's very different from where we were technologically decades ago."
- If officials find a social media post from a foreign national that appears to endorse the attack on Israel and looks "pro-Hamas," the official said, that could be grounds for visa revocation.
- "Under President Trump, the Immigration Nationality Act is great again," the official added.
The Biden-Harris administration was often delayed in addressing these pro-Hamas protests. The administration, especially when Vice President Kamala Harris ultimately replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, also tried to play both sides of the conflict. Support for Israel has also thrown the Democratic Party into deep disarray, an issue that still persists, especially with recent poll numbers from Gallup and The Economist/YouGov.
Fox News' Bill Melugin, who also reposted Secretary Rubio's post included above, shared over X that actions have already been taken by the State Department to revoke student visas.
Citing "a senior State Department official," Melugin revealed that the department had on Wednesday revoked the first visa for an "alien who was previously cited for criminal behavior in connection with Hamas-supporting disruptions." The person was reportedly a university student and "ICE will proceed with removing this person from the country."
Like the Axios article did, Melugin also mentioned inaction from the Biden administration. "The official says the State Dept. reviewed over 100,000 visas, and records showed the Biden administration canceled zero visas for pro Hamas activities or associated criminal behavior, despite the wave of protests on college campuses that broke out after the 10/7/2023 terror attacks on Israel," he posted.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio just posted this warning a short time ago:https://t.co/wOm9Q4jNme
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 6, 2025
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