Trump signs executive order targeting noncitizen students involved in pro-Palestinian protests
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order promising immediate action from federal law enforcement against noncitizen college students and others in the United States who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations during Israel's war in Gaza.
The president has pledged to deport all resident aliens who joined protests, stating "Come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you."
Trump also stated that he would quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathisers on college campuses, claiming they had been infested with radicalism like never before.
The Department of Justice will aggressively prosecute what it characterises as terroristic threats, arson, vandalism, and violence against American Jews, following what the White House describes as an explosion of antisemitism on college campuses after Israel's campaign.
The executive order declares a policy of the United States to vigorously combat anti-Semitism, using all available and appropriate legal tools to prosecute, remove, or otherwise hold accountable perpetrators of unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence.
Government agencies are directed to produce a report within 60 days identifying civil and criminal authorities to curb antisemitism, including an inventory of complaints involving antisemitism in colleges and universities.
Schools are empowered to monitor and report activities by alien students and staff for investigations and actions to remove such individuals if needed.
Civil rights advocates have raised concerns that Trump's antisemitism policy is likely unconstitutional and unfairly labels peaceful student protests as antisemitic terrorism.
Critics argue that deporting non-citizens based on their political speech violates the First Amendment rights of all individuals in the United States.
The order does not define antisemitism, but references the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition, which describes it as a perception that may manifest as hatred toward Jews.
Trump's administration aims to address antisemitism on campuses, continuing a strategy from the previous administration that reviewed discrimination based on the IHRA definition.
Universities, such as Harvard, have settled complaints related to antisemitism to avoid scrutiny by the Trump administration.
Protests against the Israel-Hamas war have resulted in over 3,000 arrests, with claims of ethnic cleansing directed at Palestinians from Trump.
Trump's approach to antisemitism includes threats to withdraw funding from schools that permit what he terms antisemitic propaganda.
He has previously faced accusations of making antisemitic remarks himself, while maintaining a focus on combating antisemitism as part of his administration's agenda.
The executive order has ignited concerns over the infringement of free speech rights and the potential chilling effect on political activism on campus.
