The Trump administration is setting its sights on free speech. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced it will begin screening immigrants’ social media for evidence of antisemitic activity as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.
President Donald Trump and his administration have already gone after international students who protested the genocide in Gaza on campus premises, by saying that such protests promote antisemitism. Many students have found their visas revoked and many have been forced to self-deport.
ABC news reported that the Trump administration has claimed, without presenting evidence, that some of those students supported the terrorist organization Hamas, while the students say the White House is treading on their constitutional right to free speech and the longstanding tradition of participating in campus demonstrations.
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International students at two University of Maryland campuses have had their visas revoked by the federal government, according to university officials. Moreover, international students at Columbia University, Tufts, and the University of Alabama have all had their visas revoked for various reasons. But the underlying reason detailed by the administration has been antisemitism.
The new social media screenings will affect people applying for permanent residence status as well as foreigners affiliated with educational institutions. The policy will go into effect immediately.
In a statement issued Wednesday morning, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it will “protect the homeland from extremists and terrorist aliens, including those who support antisemitic terrorism, violent antisemitic ideologies and antisemitic terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or [the Houthis].”
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What is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)?
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal agency under the Department of Homeland Security, established in 2003 to enforce immigration and customs laws and protect national security. It operates primarily through two divisions: Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which manages the detention and deportation of individuals violating immigration laws, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which targets crimes such as human trafficking, cybercrime, drug smuggling, and illegal trade.
ICE collaborates with domestic and international partners to address cross-border threats. Though central to U.S. immigration enforcement, ICE has faced public scrutiny and debate over its policies and practices, particularly concerning deportations and detention conditions.