Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration’s push to expel foreign citizens who have protested against Israel, saying the US may have revoked more than 300 visas so far.
“Every country in the world has a right to decide who comes in and who doesn’t,” Rubio said at a press conference on a trip to Guyana. “We’re looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up.”
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Immigration agents this month arrested and detained former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a green-card holder who was a leader of that campus’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Another student, a Turkish national at Tufts University, was taken into federal custody on Tuesday, while a 21-year-old junior at Columbia — a permanent resident — has sued to stop the Trump administration from detaining, transferring or deporting her.
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Arrests by immigration agents have fueled anxiety among foreign students in the US, particularly those prominent in the pro-Palestinian movement, which surged to prominence after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 and the Jewish state conducted its retaliatory war in Gaza. President Donald Trump campaigned on kicking out students who showed support for Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US.
Rubio was asked to confirm reports that he may have revoked some 300 visas so far.
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“Maybe more — it might be more than 300 at this point,” Rubio said. “Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa.”
Trump Crackdown
Trump has gone after several people who protested at Columbia, including Khalil, whose case has emerged as a symbol of the crackdown.
Another Columbia student, Yunseo Chung, who came to the US with her family from South Korea at age 7, sued to stop the Trump administration from detaining or deporting her, and a judge temporarily blocked the government from doing so.
At Tufts, Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student, was caught on camera as federal officers arrested her while she walked along the street in a Boston suburb. And Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese kidney transplant specialist who had worked and lived in Rhode Island and traveled to Lebanon, was denied entry upon her return to Boston’s Logan International Airport earlier this month. The move came even though she holds a visa and is employed by Brown University.
US officials said Alawieh “openly admitted” to supporting a leader of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, and attending his funeral, according to the Associated Press.
Lawyers for the detained say the actions violate their constitutional rights to free speech and due process, while Trump has accused Columbia and other schools of failing to deal forcefully with antisemitism on campus.
The Trump administration moved to halt $400 million in federal funding for Columbia, but said over the weekend the New York City school was on track for the money to be unfrozen after it agreed to a series of measures including expanding campus police powers. Meanwhile, two educational unions sued the Trump administration this week calling its funding freeze an illegal attempt to limit academic independence and free speech on campus.
Trump is also discussing plans to try and block specific colleges from having foreign students if his administration decides too many are considered pro-Hamas, Axios reported Thursday, citing senior administration officials it didn’t identify.
“Why would any country in the world allow people to come and disrupt,” Rubio said. “We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses.”
“Every country in the world has a right to decide who comes in and who doesn’t,” Rubio said at a press conference on a trip to Guyana. “We’re looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up.”
ALSO READ: Google, Amazon & Microsoft have a word of warning for their H-1B visa staff
Immigration agents this month arrested and detained former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a green-card holder who was a leader of that campus’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Another student, a Turkish national at Tufts University, was taken into federal custody on Tuesday, while a 21-year-old junior at Columbia — a permanent resident — has sued to stop the Trump administration from detaining, transferring or deporting her.
ALSO READ: US visa process has a new rule in place; skipping it can cost you your interview
Arrests by immigration agents have fueled anxiety among foreign students in the US, particularly those prominent in the pro-Palestinian movement, which surged to prominence after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 and the Jewish state conducted its retaliatory war in Gaza. President Donald Trump campaigned on kicking out students who showed support for Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US.
Rubio was asked to confirm reports that he may have revoked some 300 visas so far.
ALSO READ: It’s official. US will snoop in student visa applicants' social media accounts
“Maybe more — it might be more than 300 at this point,” Rubio said. “Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa.”
Trump Crackdown
Trump has gone after several people who protested at Columbia, including Khalil, whose case has emerged as a symbol of the crackdown.
Another Columbia student, Yunseo Chung, who came to the US with her family from South Korea at age 7, sued to stop the Trump administration from detaining or deporting her, and a judge temporarily blocked the government from doing so.
At Tufts, Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student, was caught on camera as federal officers arrested her while she walked along the street in a Boston suburb. And Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese kidney transplant specialist who had worked and lived in Rhode Island and traveled to Lebanon, was denied entry upon her return to Boston’s Logan International Airport earlier this month. The move came even though she holds a visa and is employed by Brown University.
US officials said Alawieh “openly admitted” to supporting a leader of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, and attending his funeral, according to the Associated Press.
Lawyers for the detained say the actions violate their constitutional rights to free speech and due process, while Trump has accused Columbia and other schools of failing to deal forcefully with antisemitism on campus.
The Trump administration moved to halt $400 million in federal funding for Columbia, but said over the weekend the New York City school was on track for the money to be unfrozen after it agreed to a series of measures including expanding campus police powers. Meanwhile, two educational unions sued the Trump administration this week calling its funding freeze an illegal attempt to limit academic independence and free speech on campus.
Trump is also discussing plans to try and block specific colleges from having foreign students if his administration decides too many are considered pro-Hamas, Axios reported Thursday, citing senior administration officials it didn’t identify.
“Why would any country in the world allow people to come and disrupt,” Rubio said. “We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses.”
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