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The Trump administration’s ‘catch and revoke’ policy aims to silence and instill fear in Pro-Palestine activists. The First Amendment protects the rights of all individuals in the United States, and it cannot be used as a tool to wrongfully punish those whose opinions challenge the status quo. This AI initiative will scan social media accounts looking for apparent “signs” that an individual supports Hamas. If State officials locate an account that appears to endorse Hamas, it can result in an arrest or visa revocations. Any policy or directive that seeks to punish nonviolent political dissent puts fundamental constitutional rights at risk.
In an effort to ‘catch and revoke’ student visas for alleged Hamas support, the Trump administration announced their intent to use artificial intelligence (AI) to revoke student visas of foreign nationals suspected of supporting Hamas. The State Department, Department of Justice (DOJ), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are leading the ‘catch and revoke’ effort to deport non-citizen college students and combat antisemitism. The Trump administration is framing Palestinian activism as a crime, which has resulted in the arrest of a Columbia University graduate student, Mahmoud Khalil, and suspension of a Yale Law student, Helyeh Doutaghi. Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, announced more student revocations will commence following the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil. State officials are equating political activism with a threat to foreign policy, which will have dangerous implications.
Following Trump’s executive order from January to combat anti-semitism, the State Department announced its plans to utilize artificial intelligence to revoke student visas for foreign students who they deem support Hamas. This AI system will scan various social media accounts of student visa holders. However, the State Department has not disclosed any algorithm or criteria the AI system will use to identify activists. State Department officials will examine news reports of past Pro-Palestine rallies and review lawsuits filed by Jewish students alleging anti-semitism to locate activists. It is unclear if arrest records will be reviewed by the AI system. Trump further announced he will cut all federal funding to academic institutions who’ve allowed pro-Palestine protests on campus.
The First Amendment grants individuals the right to criticize the government without the fear of punishment. Speech that opposes the government’s policies, actions, or officials- whether foreign or domestic- is constitutionally protected. Many landmark Supreme Court cases have reinforced the protection of speech when it criticizes the government. More notably in Synder v. Phelps, the Supreme Court held that while the Church’s speech was hurtful to Synder’s family, it is protected under the First Amendment. The Church’s speech was addressing a public issue, did not constitute a personal threat, and therefore, constitutionally protected free speech. This case set the precedent that ‘offensive’ speech on public matters is protected, regardless of the distress it may cause to individuals.
Since and before October 7, 2023, pro-Palestinian activists and organizations have spoken against the United States involvement in the Middle East, American aid to Israel, and their role in the Gaza genocide. Demonstrations across the United States have called for a ceasefire and the uninterrupted aid to enter Gaza. Many advocates, whether U.S. citizens or international students, advocated for the collective liberation of Palestine and an end to the U.S. funding for Israel. Recently, Helyeh Doutaghi, a Yale Law School student and deputy director of the Law and Political Economy Project, was suspended after an AI-powered platform called “Jewish Onliner” published a report accusing Doutaghi of being a terrorist. In the report, it claimed Doutaghi was connected to Samidoun- a federally designated terrorist organization. The author(s) behind this report remains unknown, but the AI site claims that human editors finalize edits before reports go live. Yale University afforded no due process for Doutaghi and placed her on administrative leave, barred her from campus, and revoked her IT access. The dangers of unregulated use of AI is being weaponized to target pro-Palestine resembles a witch hunt. Trump’s ‘catch and revoke’ policy marks a dangerous escalation in speech repression and fostering fear throughout all college campuses for defenders of free speech.
This series of actions is a critical turning point on the dissent of free speech. Trump campaigned as a “protector of free speech” but his recent actions threaten it. He’s banned certain media outlets from the White House because he did not like what they publish, accusing them of being “anti-Trump” and “radical.” The Trump administration is targeting pro-Palestine activists to discriminate against particular viewpoints. The ideological crackdown on Palestine activists is to suppress their free speech and not challenge the status quo the Trump administration seeks to maintain.
As the threat to free speech is growing, the Trump administration’s assault on free speech includes deportation of non-U.S. students on student visas. Advocates who led pro-Palestine protests or expressed pro-Palestinian sentiments online are likely to become targets of this brazen, McCarthyism-like effort. Currently, Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate, is being held in an immigration detention center. Khalil, a green card holder, was forcefully taken from his New York residence due to his Pro-Palestine activism. His green card has been revoked, and Trump is determined to deport him. Unidentified agents, later identified as ICE agents, took him from his residence, with Trump stating Khalil’s arrest is the first “of many to come.” Khalil’s engagement in Palestinian activism is labeled as “pro-terrorist, anti-semitic, and anti-american.” Brian Hauss, an attorney with the ACLU, called this one of the biggest threats to the First Amendment freedoms in decades.
As a lawful permanent resident and green card holder, Khalil has the right to free speech. The First Amendment does not distinguish between citizens or non-citizens. There are various grounds for deportability under the Immigration and Nationality Act, none of which apply to Khalil. This includes, but are not limited to:
Khalil has not been charged with a crime, yet his detention is one of many to come, highlighting the seriousness of Trump’s ideological crackdown on Pro-Palestine activists. Since pro-Palestine speech is wrongfully labeled as being anti-semitic, many individuals are at risk. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, it does state any foreigner “who endorses or espouses terrorist activity” is considered inadmissible to the United States. However, legal scholars argue this provision is hardly used against lawful people already residing in the United States. More specifically, under the provision- section 237 (a)(4)(C)(i)- it states a non-citizen or U.S. Nationals can be deported if the Secretary of State has “reasonable grounds to believe their actions have a serious consequence for the United States”. Speech advocating for Palestinian liberation and calling on the government does not constitute endorsing a terrorist activity. It’s an escalation of tactics to suppress the support of Palestinian human rights.
By applying immense pressure on universities, the Trump administration seeks to punish universities it believes have allowed anti-semitism to spread on their campuses. The Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Education (ED), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) immediately canceled almost $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University. While it is unclear how the loss of federal funding will affect university programs, this attempt is to force Columbia University to meet Trump’s demands, which include releasing student and student-worker disciplinary records to reinstate their federal funding. In CAIRs lawsuit filed against Columbia University, the records sought by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce are not entirely related to anti-semitism, rather, it’s being used to target pro-Palestinian activists under the guise of combating anti-semitism. The lawsuit highlights the Committee’s effort of chilling student’s First Amendment rights and exposing them to doxxing, negative publicity, and unwarranted investigations. Columbia University stated its willingness to comply with the Congressional request of disclosing student records, a move that will set a dangerous precedent and undermine academic freedom.
With this blatant attack on academic institutions and Palestinian activists, the question posed now is, who’s next? The government’s overreach into academic institutions and cutting off funds as a form of punishments has created unprecedented challenges to students and academia. Columbia University handing private information of their students to politicians will aid the Trump administration’s bidding for curtailing free speech.
Trump’s ‘catch and revoke’ policy falsely criminalizes Palestinian activists and aims to leverage the power of immigration law and federal funding to silence dissent and criminalize free speech-only if it’s about Palestine. Palestinian activists, especially students, are being disproportionately targeted, with their speech misconstrued as anti-semitic or pro-terrorist. Advocates worry that using artificial intelligence for surveillance could lead to errors, misidentifications and privacy violations. The Trump administration is targeting pro-Palestine activists to discriminate against particular viewpoints. The ideological crackdown on Palestine activists is to suppress their free speech and not challenge the status quo the Trump administration seeks to maintain.
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