Opinion
We should follow Trump’s lead and deport extremists
Foreign born nationals who support terrorism should be on the next plane out
March 24, 2025 10:38
3 min read
Foreign born nationals who support terrorism should be on the next plane out
March 24, 2025 10:38Trump is right: foreign nationals – including students – who support and organise terror-linked extremist and antisemitic activities should be deported. And this is exactly what the UK government should be doing. No, this position is neither “far-right” nor is it “racist”, as the so-called “progressive left” will immediately cry. In fact, I write this as a British-born ethnic minority, whose parents migrated to the UK from Iran, so hear me out.
Last week, the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil – a Palestinian student who is accused of spearheading pro-Hamas protests at Columbia University – triggered global attention, as the Trump administration moves to deport him. Khalil, who has a green card, was detained as part of the Trump’s efforts to take a robust stance against rising antisemitism and terror-linked extremism across university campuses. Unsurprisingly, the student’s supporters – including much of the mainstream media – labelled the arrest as an “attack” on free speech and asserted that there is no legal basis to revoke his green card. They claim he was detained for his pro-Palestinian views and advocacy against Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
But those rushing to his defence are omitting key facts. US authorities have been clear that it was not his rhetoric or views that resulted in his detainment, but his organisation’s active role in supporting designated terrorist groups. The US Department of Homeland Security has declared that the arrest was made “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting antisemitism” and because Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation”.
There is a string of undeniable evidence to support this. Khalil is a leader of the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) – a student group that has expressed support for Hamas, intimidated Jewish students and staff and caused campus disruptions.
On October 8, CUAD released an official statement explicitly endorsing the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, asserting: “We support liberation by any means necessary, including armed resistance.”
The group has also consistently glorified US designated terrorists, including referring to the October 7 massacre as the “crowning achievement” of the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Similarly, across campuses CUAD has distributed antisemitic material with the header “Hamas Media Office”, including a pamphlet celebrating October 7 entitled “Our Narrative…Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.”
Khalil himself has reportedly been pictured alongside other CUAD leadership, at one of these handouts.
These pro-Hamas activities have been simultaneously carried out with acts of intimidation and vandalism against Jewish students and staff. Immigration law in the US makes it explicitly clear that visas and green cards can be revoked if an individual engages in activities deemed threatening to national security, including support for designated terrorists.
But here’s the thing: the same provisions exist in the UK.
The Home Secretary has a mandate to deport and revoke visas and residency on national security grounds. And this is exactly what the Home Office should be doing in relation to foreign nationals involved in promoting antisemitic violence and terrorism. This will no doubt provoke a strong reaction from so-called “progressives”, who will try and taint such a stance as an effort to silence pro-Palestinian voices. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. As with the Khalil case in the US, individuals and entities would be targeted for their involvement in organising activities linked to terrorism and extremism, not for simply having pro-Palestinian views.
This is not a matter of subjective opinion or interpretation.
Clearly there is a major difference between being pro-Palestinian and hosting extremist speakers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps online, who have called for bringing “end to the lives of Zionists and Jews”, as the UK-based Islamic Students Association of Britain has done. This entity, which is primarily made up of foreign nationals on student visas, is directly affiliated to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian regime’s supreme leader. In the past, it has been involved in sponsoring the annual antisemitic Quds Day rally across London, where its leaders have even called for armed violence against the Jewish state. Remarkably, Khamenei himself has an office in London – the Islamic Centre of England (ICE) – and a personally appointed Iranian representative in the UK, who operates as the centre’s director. ICE – a UK-registered charity – has consistently conducted extremist-linked activity on its premises: from holding a vigil for a UK-designated terrorist to airing Khamenei’s sermons advocating terror against Israel.
The Home Office should be immediately questioning whether these individuals and entities have violated immigration laws. It should not be difficult for the government to state explicitly that foreign nationals who support terrorism and extremism are not welcome in Britain.
As US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asserted, “coming to the United States on a visa is a privilege, not a right”. The same should be true in the UK – and it’s about time the Home Secretary made this crystal clear.
