Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday that he had revoked the visas of at least 300 foreign students who came to the US to “cause trouble.”
“It could be more than 300 by now,” Rubio told reporters during a press conference in Guyana. “We do this regularly,” he added. “Every time I find one of those lunatics, I take away their visa.”
On March 7, the State Department revoked the first visa of a foreign student connected to “Hamas-supporting disruptions,” following President Trump’s pledge to crack down on those involved in anti-Israel protests on college campuses.
“We revoked the first visa of an individual who had previously been cited for criminal behavior related to Hamas-supporting disruptions,” a State Department spokesperson said in a Thursday statement, adding, “This individual was a university student,” and noting that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) would “proceed with removing this person from the country.”
In early March, rights advocates raised concerns about free speech after reports surfaced that the State Department was considering using artificial intelligence to revoke the visas of foreign students it perceives as supporters of Hamas. Critics warned that this could infringe on individuals’ freedom of expression.
Axios, citing senior State Department officials, reported that an AI-driven “Catch and Revoke” initiative would involve AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders’ social media accounts. The report also indicated that officials were examining news coverage of demonstrations against Israel’s policies and lawsuits filed by Jewish students, which highlight foreign nationals engaging in antisemitic behavior.
The arrest of Rumeysa Ozturk (on a student visa) and Mahmoud Khalil (a green card holder) by masked “officer” using Gestapo-like tactics should concern all Americans. While not citizens, they have rights under the Constitution.
— Matt K. (@MattJKoe) March 27, 2025
The Trump administration has focused on individuals involved in last year’s anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, where demonstrators harassed Jewish students and barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall, leading to multiple arrests. This week, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University graduate student from Turkey who previously attended Columbia, was taken into custody by ICE agents.
Ozturk’s student visa was terminated by the Trump administration due to her “activities in support of Hamas,” according to a Wednesday statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
The US has designated Hamas as a “foreign terrorist organization.”
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said the reported developments “signal an alarming erosion of constitutionally protected free speech and privacy rights.”
One man’s alarming erosion is another man’s step in the right direction.
