Trump orders to cancel student visas of pro-Palestinian protesters

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

The US president’s order instructs federal agencies to identify available civil and criminal authorities in order to “combat antisemitism”, specifically by deporting resident aliens – such as students with visas – who were found to have broken the law during protests.

The order appears to target students and other activists who engaged in pro-Palestinian demonstrations following Israel’s war in Gaza that started on October 7, 2023.

It also instructs the US Department of Justice to investigate pro-Hamas graffiti and intimidation, including incidents on college 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 said in the fact sheet.

“I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before,” the president said, echoing a 2024 campaign promise.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a large Muslim advocacy group, said it would consider challenging the order in court if Trump tried to implement it.

The Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israeli assault on the Palestinian coastal enclave of Gaza led to several months of pro-Palestinian protests that roiled U.S. college campuses.

Civil rights groups documented a surge in hate crimes and incidents directed at Jews, Muslims, Arabs and other people of Middle Eastern descent.

The order requires agency and department leaders to provide the White House with recommendations within 60 days on all criminal and civil authorities that could be used to fight anti-Semitism.

Many pro-Palestinian protesters denied supporting Hamas or engaging in antisemitic acts, saying they were demonstrating against Israel’s military assault on Gaza.