International Student Pro-Palestine Protestors’ Visas Revoked Under New Executive Order

A new executive order signed off by President Donald Trump on Wednesday to combat antisemitism has greenlit possible deportations for international students in California who participated in pro-Palestinian protests on campuses last year.

In April and May of 2024, California became the epicenter of mass pro-Palestinian protests. Encampments with sometimes hundreds of tents sprawled across campuses like UCLA and UC Irvine. Barriers were razed. Buildings were taken over. And subsequent arrests were dozens at a time. The May UCLA protest clocked in well over 200 arrests, with the encampment being razed over a period of several days. USC arrested 93 during a protest. 80 were arrested at UC Santa Cruz. Even smaller colleges made nationwide news, with Cal Poly Humboldt students taking over 2 buildings on campus for a week that ended in 35 students being arrested.

Students received a variety of punishment as a result, from being fired from campus jobs and vacated from dorm rooms, to having graduation postponed and being charged in court. In addition, universities instilled a large number of new rules beginning in the fall 2024 semester, effectively corralling protests and virtually eliminating the possibility of encampments from ever being set up again. However, very few students wound up being expelled as a result, with many instead being suspended. The antisemitic fervor also worried many on campus, with some protests, including the UCLA protest, actually putting up checkpoints to keep Jewish students out.

The issue wasn’t solely a California problem either, with campuses across the U.S. reporting similar antisemitic behavior.

And with many worried about future protests having the same problems and numerous current students who exhibited the behavior still enrolled and on campuses, President Trump signed a new executive order to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses.

“This order reaffirms Executive Order 13899 and directs additional measures to advance the policy thereof in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, against the people of Israel,” Trump’s order says. “These attacks unleashed an unprecedented wave of vile anti-Semitic discrimination, vandalism, and violence against our citizens, especially in our schools and on our campuses.  Jewish students have faced an unrelenting barrage of discrimination; denial of access to campus common areas and facilities, including libraries and classrooms; and intimidation, harassment, and physical threats and assault.  A joint report by the House Committees on Education and the Workforce, Energy and Commerce, Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability, Veterans’ Affairs, and Ways and Means calls the Federal Government’s failure to fight anti-Semitism and protect Jewish students “astounding.”  This failure is unacceptable and ends today.

“It shall be the policy of the United States to combat anti-Semitism vigorously, using all available and appropriate legal tools, to prosecute, remove, or otherwise hold to account the perpetrators of unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence.”

Possible visa revocations, deportations

For international students who participated in the protests last year, Trump’s pledge to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests last year is concerning. While F-1 visas do come with protections, like first amendment protections, it does not protect against serious crimes. These include the crimes outlined in the order including harassment, discrimination, and violence.

It is currently unknown what the review process for revoking the visas and deportation will look like. The process for identifying students who participated in those crimes at protests instead of simply just protesting is likewise unknown, although arrest and detaining records by law enforcement, as well as identification measures using video and photos of the protests may be used.

Several groups denounced the order shortly after the signing on Wednesday and Thursday, calling the order unconstitutional and saying that it deprived students of first amendment rights.

“The executive order is an attempt to smear the diverse group of student protesters, who, like the college students who once protested segregation, the Vietnam war, and apartheid South Africa, deserve our country’s thanks,” said the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Wednesday.”

In contrast, many student groups, Jewish organizations, and alumni associations praised the order, saying that more crackdowns were needed to curb antisemitism.

“They’re talking about first amendment rights, but we’re talking about the rights not be harassed, to freely go to class, and experience violence just because of who we are,” explained Ben, a Jewish student at UCLA who experienced harassment on campus last year, to the Globe on Thursday. “The war with Hamas brought out a lot of different feelings on campuses nationwide, but none should have resulted in violence. For the war, against the war. It should have been peaceful. But it wasn’t. And I was discriminated against and, I’ll be honest, I was fearful.

“You can’t just come as a guest to this country, commit crimes, and expect to get away with it. This order makes me feel better. I’ll be even happier when I see students who wronged others like that get their visas removed, but this is a good start. And people wonder why more Jewish voters have been voting Republican.”