‘There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathisers’ stated the US Department of Homeland Security
April 10, 2025 11:20
ByJC Reporter, Jewish News Syndicate
The US Government announced on Wednesday that it intends to start the screening social media posts of those looking to move to the country for indications of antisemitic views as it cracks down on “terrorist sympathisers”.
The Department for Homeland Security (DHS) will assess applicants’ historical online activity and bar anyone who has demonstrated support for “violent antisemitic ideologies”, as well as terror groups like Hamas or Hezbollah.
“There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathisers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,” said DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
She added that Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, “has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for antisemitic violence and terrorism [should] think again. You are not welcome here.”
The department confirmed that the new screening process would be implemented for foreign students, applicants for legal residency, and those seeking any immigration benefits, as part of a broader effort to “protect the homeland from extremists” and fulfil executive orders from President Trump.
However the move has sparked concerns from civil liberties groups, including questions about how the DHS would define “support” for antisemitic activities and whether the decision could erode free speech protections, particularly in terms of criticism of Israel.
“By surveilling visa and green card holders and targeting them based on nothing more than their protected expression, the administration trades America’s commitment to free and open discourse for fear and silence,” said the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression on X. “Unfortunately, that chill appears to be the administration’s aim.”
However, Carly Gammill, director of legal policy at StandWithUs, told JNS that “monitoring of social media by immigration officials dates back to at least the second Obama administration”.
“This new measure communicates the clear position that to threaten violence against the Jewish community is fundamentally at odds with American values and the safety of American citizens,” she added. “That seems a reasonable position no matter one’s politics.”
The move coincides with the administration’s attempts to revoke the visas of several foreign students who were involved with the pro-Palestine protests that swept US college campuses last year.
They include Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate and green card holder, who remains in an detention facility after being detained by immigration officers in New York last month. Khalil has not been charged with any crime but the Trump administration is arguing that it can revoke his green card under an obscure 1950s national security law.
His case, set to be decided this week, could be key in setting a precedent regarding the State Department’s ability to withdraw legal citizenship without a criminal trial.