In the wake of pro-Gaza protesters in Washington, D.C., tearing down and burning an American flag and vandalizing the Freedom Bell, amongst other monuments, Sen. Tom Cotton introduced, alongside co-sponsors Sen. Marsha Blackburn, and Sen. Ted Budd, legislation titled the “No Visas for Violent Criminals Act.”
The bill would terminate any visa and require deportation, within 60 days, of any non-citizen who is convicted of a criminal offense during a protest, such as tearing down or vandalizing federal monuments, as happened during the protests sparked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, during which he spoke about the Israeli-Hamas War in Gaza.
Sen. Cotton, describing the bill in a press release that described the bill and its companion legislation in the House of Representatives, said, “The Biden administration’s inaction against pro-Hamas mobs has only emboldened these extremists. Our legislation makes clear that a green card does not give individuals the right to break our laws in support of anti-Semitic views.”
Similarly, Congressman Jim Banks, who introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives, said, “For months, pro-Hamas rioters have terrorized communities across the U.S. without consequence. Foreigners who come here to spread antisemitism, block highways, and deface statues and other public property must be deported immediately. Senator Cotton’s and my bill would do exactly that.”
That release provided that “The No Visas for Violent Criminals Act would immediately terminate any visa and require deportation within 60 days of any non-citizen convicted of: Any offense involving the obstruction of highways, roads, bridges, or tunnels. Any offense related to the individual’s conduct at and during the course of a protest that takes place at an institution of higher education or religious institution in the United States. Any offense involving the defacement or destruction of federal property (including but not limited to monuments and memorials). This also applies to any aggravated felony (as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (43)).”
The bill itself states, “Any alien who is convicted of a crime related to the alien’s conduct at and during the course of a protest that occurs at an institution of higher education or at a facility in the United States operated by a religious institution; involving the defacement, vandalism, or destruction of a Federal memorial or monument, including any veterans memorial … involving the intentional obstruction of any highway, road, bridge, or tunnel, is deportable.”
The bill also provides, “If any alien is convicted of a deportable crime described in section 237(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act … any visa issued to such alien shall immediately be cancelled; and not later than 60 days after such conviction, such alien shall be removed from the United States.”
Sen. Cotton, posting about the bill on X, said, “This morning my colleagues and I introduced a bill to deport any foreigner involved in violence and vandalism on federal property. The actions of the pro-Hamas lunatics at Union Station in DC are shameful, and anyone on a visa who took part should have it revoked immediately.”
Watch some of Netanyahu’s remarks to Congress here:
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