President Trump is ramping up his attack on students’ rights through two separate Executive Orders that suppress freedom of speech in regards to pro-Palestinian sentiment. These Executive Orders will target the most marginalized: visa holders and visa hopefuls. Non-U.S citizens who are engaged in pro-Palestinian spaces both in-person and online may be subject to these Executive Orders and their potential immigration consequences.
To help students and the community be better prepared, ADC is issuing this public guidance document which includes important information. ADC will be hosting virtual town halls to provide additional guidance for those interested.
Executive Order titled, “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats” allows the United States to remove non-citizens who are seen as threats to our national security and subscribers to “hateful ideology”. Non-U.S. citizens who are perceived as advocating for, aiding, or supporting designated foreign terrorists are susceptible to having their visas revoked and/or denied.
The second Executive Order, “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism” specifically targets non-citizen students who demonstrate pro-Palestinian sentiment. This order allows immigration and law enforcement to pressure universities to report alleged anti-Semitic activities by their students. Those reports may then be used to argue that identified students have violated conditions on their visas, rendering them inadmissible to the United States and triggering removal proceedings.
These Executive Orders are designed to intimidate students and quell the anti-genocide movement we have seen since October 7, 2023. These Executive Orders set out to punish students for mobilizing in support of Palestine and for exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and free speech, both of which are protected under the First Amendment.
President Trump’s Executive Orders have expanded surveillance of both visa holders and visa applicants, directing the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to enhance the vetting process. The Executive Orders rely on a game of semantics with false claims of protecting the nation from foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats. The effort to align anti-genocide protestors with foreign terrorism is deliberate and serves as grounds for increased visa restrictions and surveillance of students holding F-1 and J-1 visas, primarily impacting international students involved in protests on campus.
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The ADC Legal Department is available to provide private know your rights sessions, and consultations to student groups. If you are a student group interested in learning more, please send an email to [email protected]