Trump vows crackdown, deportation of ‘Hamas sympathisers’ in colleges

Washington: As part of a crackdown on suspected anti-Semitism, US President Donald Trump has threatened to deport foreign university students engaging in pro-Palestinian protests, sparking outrage from free speech and Muslim advocacy groups.

In an executive order issued on Wednesday, President Trump stated that the federal government will use "all available and appropriate legal tools" to pursue and remove perpetrators of "unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence.”

“Jewish students have faced an unrelenting barrage of discrimination; denial of access to campus common areas and facilities, including libraries and classrooms; and intimidation, harassment, and physical threats and assault,” Trump’s order said.

The White House's facts sheet on the order stated that the crackdown would apply to "all" student visa holders who participated in "pro-jihadist protests" on university campuses.

“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,” Trump said in the fact sheet.

“I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”

It was unclear how extensively authorities may interpret definitions like "anti-Semitism" and "pro-jihadist", Al Jazeera reported.

Trump's words in his fact sheet appeared to suggest broader action than the wording of his order, despite the latter citing existing law that allows for visa revocation in a variety of instances.

According to the order, Trump directed the secretaries of state, education, and homeland security to familiarise universities with a section of immigration law governing "inadmissible aliens" and to ensure that reports of activities that violate the criteria for admissibility lead "to investigations and, if warranted, actions to remove such aliens.”

Foreign people can be considered "inadmissible aliens" under US immigration law for a variety of reasons other than being convicted of a crime.

These circumstances include cases in which authorities have "reason to believe" a person is engaging in different forms of unlawful activities or have determined he or she is "associated with a terrorist organisation."

Several human rights organisations quickly condemned Trump's order.

“Like the college students who once protested segregation, the Vietnam war, and apartheid South Africa, the diverse collection of college students who protested against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza deserve our country’s thanks,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement.

“The Trump administration’s attempt to smear the many Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian and other college students who protested the Israeli government’s genocide in overwhelmingly peaceful ways represents a dishonest, overbroad and unenforceable attack on both free speech and the humanity of Palestinians, all for the sake of a foreign government. So is the administration’s apparent threat to deport any foreign student who merely participated in anti-genocide protests.”

According to FIRE, an advocacy group dedicated to protecting free speech, student visa revocation should not be used "to punish and filter out ideas disfavored by the federal government".

“The strength of our nation’s system of higher education derives from the exchange of the widest range of views, even unpopular or dissenting ones,” the group said in a statement.

“Students who commit crimes – including vandalism, threats, or violence – must face consequences, and those consequences may include the loss of a visa. But if today’s executive order reaches beyond illegal activity to instead punish students for protest or expression otherwise protected by the First Amendment, it must be withdrawn.”

Pro-Palestinian protests erupted on dozens of US university campuses last spring as Israel launched war on Gaza. The demonstrations, which moved to prestigious campuses including Harvard, Yale, and Columbia, sparked heated debate and recriminations about alleged anti-Semitism in higher education.

While several Jewish students reported instances of violence, intimidation, and harassment during the rallies, pro-Palestinian students and activists accused university officials of using the allegation of anti-Semitism to silence legitimate criticism of Israel.