Education
Trump Orders Deportation Of Pro-Hamas Foreign Students
By Benjamin Abioye
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to deport foreign university students involved in pro-Hamas protests, citing concerns over anti-Semitism.
President Donald Trump has taken the war against anti-semitism to the camp of foreign students in the United States vowing to deport those who have backed Hamas, a group the US government labels as a sponsor of terorrism.
In an executive order signed on Wednesday, Trump directed the federal government to use “all available and appropriate legal tools” to prosecute and deport those responsible for what he called “unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence.”
The White House issued a fact sheet explaining that the crackdown applies to “all” student visa holders participating 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 stated in the fact sheet.
He added, “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 remains unclear how broadly the government will define terms like “anti-Semitism” and “pro-jihadist.” Trump’s fact sheet suggested a tougher stance than the text of the executive order, which cites existing immigration laws allowing visa revocation in certain cases.
Under the order, Trump instructed the secretaries of state, education, and homeland security to ensure universities are aware of immigration laws concerning “inadmissible aliens.” He also called for investigations and possible deportations of students engaged in activities that violate these laws.
U.S. immigration laws classify individuals as “inadmissible aliens” for various reasons, including suspicions of unlawful activity or associations with terrorist organizations.
Trump’s order has been met with sharp criticism from rights groups.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) compared student protesters to past civil rights activists, stating, “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.”
They accused the Trump administration of unfairly targeting students, saying, “The attempt to smear 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 free speech and the humanity of Palestinians.”
FIRE, a free speech advocacy group, also raised concerns. “The revocation of student visas should not be used to punish and filter out ideas disfavored by the federal government,” the group said.
They stressed that students who commit crimes should face consequences but warned, “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 have erupted at universities across the U.S., including Harvard, Yale, and Columbia, amid Israel’s war on Gaza. These protests which erupted before Trump came to power saw many foreign students apparently backing Hamas, the group which carried out the invasion of Israel on October , 2023.
Some Jewish students reported facing threats and harassment, while pro-Palestinian students argued that accusations of anti-Semitism are being used to silence criticism of Israel.
Trump’s order has intensified the already heated discussions surrounding free speech, student activism, and U.S. policies on Israel and Palestine.
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