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Foreign students studying in the U.S. who join pro-Hamas protests should be deported, a former head of the government’s citizenship agency said.
Emilio Gonzalez, who ran U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services during the George W. Bush administration, also said Friday that any green-card holders who join demonstrations supporting Hamas’ murderous attack on Israel could also be denied a chance at citizenship because they fail the “good moral character” test.
“Show me how clapping for babies being burned alive is good moral character,” Mr. Gonzalez told The Washington Times.
He said immigration law offers a powerful tool to clamp down on repugnant beliefs and universities, and the Biden administration should not be shy about using it.
“Don’t reward terrorism!” he said in a post on the social media platform X, where he first laid out the idea. His suggestion comes after reports of pro-Palestinian rallies breaking out in U.S. communities. and particularly on college campuses.
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Demonstrators have defended Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack as “resistance” to Israel, and a common theme among protests has been an image of a paraglider, similar to ones used as the vanguard of Hamas’ incursion.
“Hate speech works both ways,” Mr. Gonzalez told The Times. “Universities are intolerant of people they consider to be conservative or right-wing on any number of issues, yet they tolerate organizations and students who espouse antisemitic, pro-terrorist dogma.”
Mr. Gonzalez said others could also face the hammer of immigration law. If pro-Hamas protesters are here on work visas, those could be revoked.
And he said those here as legal permanent residents — also known as green-card holders — should be blocked if they eventually apply for citizenship under the “moral character” requirement.
Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, said he will introduce legislation to require the administration to revoke visas of any foreign visitor who “actively” supported Hamas.
And he said he’ll pursue another bill to strip federal funding from colleges and universities that don’t crack down on protests that can be deemed to support “terrorist activity.”
He also urged the State Department not to wait for Congress, and to start revoking foreign visitors’ visas on its own.
Mr. Rubio said Hamas is a designated foreign terrorist organization, so anyone demonstrating in support has violated the immigration law section that bars admission of those who are part of a group that endorses or espouses terrorist activity.”
The senator urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to begin a review of all visa holders to see who has crossed the line.
“I urge you to immediately use existing law to eradicate this hate from our country,” Mr. Rubio said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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