Recently, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) called upon the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deport foreign nationals in the United States who have demonstrated support for the terrorist attack on Israel carried out by Hamas. This would include students currently in America on student visas as student groups around the country have organized anti-Israel protests celebrating Hamas.
Cotton sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, requesting the organization to deport such individuals who he claims have “no place” inside the United States. “I write to urge you to immediately deport any foreign national—including and especially any alien on a student visa—that has expressed support for Hamas and its murderous attacks on Israel. These fifth-columnists have no place in the United States,” the senator said.
Sen. Cotton cites federal law mandating that any non-citizen who openly endorses terrorist activity is determined to be “inadmissible” to the United States and, therefore, must be promptly deported. “Federal law is clear that any alien who ‘endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization’ is inadmissible and must be deported,” he continued.
Dozens of pro-Palestinian student organizations at various colleges around the nation have voiced their support of the deadly Hamas attack against Israel, even organizing anti-Israel protests and demonstrations in some cases. Following the attack, the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Group released a public statement that was signed by nearly 30 student organizations claiming, “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”
Various other pro-Palestinian student-based groups released similar statements. In Cotton’s letter, he denounced the anti-Semitic nature of the statements from the student organizations, calling for any foreign students who participated in the Harvard Palestine Solidarity letter to be “permanently” removed from the country.
“Swiftly removing and permanently barring from future reentry any foreign student who signed onto or shared approvingly the anti-Semitic letter from the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee on October 7 would be a good place to start,” Cotton stated.
Cotton further expressed his disgust for the anti-Semitic attitudes and behavior displayed by the student groups, stating that it should be of concern to those who hold “American values.” The senator reminds us that while American citizens have the right to utilize the First Amendment, non-citizens are not permitted to endorse or promote terrorism.
“The appalling explosion of anti-Semitism in the United States over the past few weeks should disturb anyone who shares American values,” Cotton wrote. “While American citizens may have a First Amendment right to speak disgusting vitriol if they so choose, no foreign national has a right to advocate for terrorism in the United States.”
Republicans have been doubling down on efforts to take political action against those who support Hamas. The American Tribune recently reported on legislation introduced by conservatives in the House of Representatives to prevent the Biden administration from importing Palestinians to the U.S., where they could resettle.
“Following the horrific attack by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists on innocent Israeli civilians, the last thing America ought to do is trust identity documents issued by the radicals that oversee these territories,” Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) said in a statement. “We need to put our security at home first and that starts by closing the door to bad actors who might be seeking to enter our country.”
Featured Image Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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