The U.S. administration has announced that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will now consider “antisemitic activity” on social media and physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds to deny immigration benefits. This new guidance, which went into effect immediately, applies to individuals seeking benefits such as permanent residency, student visas, or affiliations with educational institutions linked to antisemitism.
This move follows an earlier announcement from the Department of Homeland Security, which proposed gathering social media handles from applicants for immigration benefits, such as green cards and citizenship. That proposal, which is part of an executive order, drew concern from immigration and free speech advocates due to the expansion of government surveillance into social media activity of individuals already in the country legally. However, monitoring social media for immigration purposes has been in practice since at least the Obama administration and was ramped up during President Trump’s first term.
The new guidelines focus specifically on social media content indicating support for antisemitic terrorism or groups, including organizations like Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. The USCIS has stated that such endorsements will be considered a negative factor when reviewing immigration benefit requests. Additionally, the guidelines note that individuals involved in activities linked to antisemitic ideology or terrorist organizations could be subject to increased scrutiny or deportation.
This policy also comes in the context of increasing efforts to deport foreign-born students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests or expressed opposition to Israeli policies. One such case involved the detention and green card revocation of a student accused of supporting Hamas through his actions at a campus protest.
USCIS has not yet provided specific definitions of what constitutes “antisemitism” under these new guidelines or which educational institutions might be subject to this scrutiny
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