US Revokes Student Visa Following Pro-Hamas Protest
The US State Department has revoked the visa of a student who participated in protests supporting Hamas, acting in accordance with President Donald Trump’s stated policy of canceling visas for foreign students involved in anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses, Fox News reports.
“Yesterday evening, we revoked the first visa of an alien who was previously cited for criminal behavior in connection with Hamas-supporting disruptions,” the State Department stated. “This individual was a university student. ICE will proceed with removing this person from the country.”
The action contrasts with the Biden administration, which, according to the State Department, did not revoke any student visas despite anti-Israel protests and disruptions on college campuses. The State Department stated they reviewed over 100,000 student visas during the Biden administration.
President Trump, since taking office in January, has repeatedly called for the revocation of visas for foreign students supporting Hamas and other designated terrorist organizations. He also signed an executive order to combat antisemitism.
According to a White House fact sheet, Trump stated, “To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you.” He further declared his intention to “quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
The issue of anti-Israel protests and related incidents on US college campuses, including vandalism, threats against Jewish students, and violence against law enforcement, has been a subject of considerable debate.
The White House fact sheet criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the situation:
“The Biden Administration turned a blind eye to this coordinated assault on public order; it simply refused to protect the civil rights of Jewish Americans, especially students.” The fact sheet also cited a December 2024 US House of Representatives Staff Report on anti-Semitism, which alleged a “failure of our federal government departments and agencies.”
Axios recently reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is implementing an AI-fueled “Catch and Revoke” program aimed at identifying and canceling the visas of foreign students who appear to support designated terrorist groups.
“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 US law — including international students — face visa denial or revocation, and deportation,” Rubio wrote on X.
