For several weeks now, there have been reports of nonimmigrant visas being revoked. Executive Order 14188 (EO) on Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism provides for “the removal of resident aliens who violate our laws” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that individuals who espouse support for Hamas would have their nonimmigrant visas revoked. However, until today, there has been no official policy announcement on this subject.
Today U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin officially considering “aliens’ antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.” The policy is not limited to nonimmigrant visa holders. Rather, it will “immediately affect aliens applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and aliens affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity.” According to the announcement, relying on Trump’s various EOs, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “will enforce all relevant immigration laws to the maximum degree, to protect the homeland from extremists and terrorist aliens, including those who support antisemitic terrorism, violent antisemitic ideologies and antisemitic terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or Ansar Allah aka: the Houthis.”
Under this guidance, USCIS will consider social media content that indicates an alien “endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity” as a negative factor in any USCIS discretionary analysis when adjudicating immigration benefit requests. This guidance is effective immediately.