Trump administration mulls blocking foreign students with ‘pro-Hamas’ views from colleges: Report
ByHT News Desk
Mar 28, 2025 08:46 AM IST
The plan to prevent colleges from enrolling student visa-holders reportedly stems from Secretary of State Marco Rubio's “catch and revoke” programme.
The Trump administration is considering blocking foreign students from certain colleges if it determines that those students hold “pro-Hamas” views, Axios reported, citing senior officials from the Justice and State Department.
Students at Columbia University paint a response to a message written by Palestinians in Rafah thanking students for their support as they continue to maintain a protest encampment on campus in support of Palestinians, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City, U.S., April 28, 2024. (REUTERS FILE)
Students at Columbia University paint a response to a message written by Palestinians in Rafah thanking students for their support as they continue to maintain a protest encampment on campus in support of Palestinians, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in New York City, U.S., April 28, 2024. (REUTERS FILE)
The move, which could include grand jury subpoenas, is part of Trump’s tough stance on immigration and antisemitism, with critics saying it limits campus free speech and has led to lawsuits, the report added.
The plan to prevent colleges from enrolling student visa-holders reportedly stems from Secretary of State Marco Rubio's “catch and revoke” programme, which is now focusing on students who protested the Gaza war, the Axios report said.
Quoting a senior State Department official, the report mentioned that the demonstrators being targeted were referred to as “Hamasniks,” individuals the government claims have shown support for the terror group.
According to an official quoted in the report, more than 300 foreign students have had their student visas revoked in the three weeks since the “catch and revoke” operation began.
“Nationwide, there are 1.5 million student visa-holders. Everyone is fair game,” the official has been quoted as saying.
At the core of the plan is the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which certifies schools to accept student visa-holders. Institutions have been decertified in the past if the government determines they have too many student visa-holders using the education system as a cover to live and work in the US, officials say.
The Trump administration is now allegedly threatening to apply this decertification framework to the post-October 7 demonstrations on college campuses.
“Every institution that has foreign students ... will go through some sort of review,” the official said, adding, “You can have so many bad apples in one place that it leads to decertification of the school ... I don't think we're at that point yet. But it is not an empty threat.”
Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), both of which witnessed controversial pro-Palestinian protests last year, are frequently mentioned by administration officials.
Critics argue that the administration is infringing on free speech and due process rights, accusing it of wrongly equating support for Palestinian rights with backing Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.
The Axios report also mentions that the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a nonpartisan group advocating for free speech, called the idea of decertifying entire universities over alleged "pro-Hamas" views a concerning escalation.
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