LIVE UPDATES
USA (Reuter)- President Donald Trump has pledged to deport international students participating in anti-Israel demonstrations, particularly on U.S. college campuses.
This announcement followed Trump's decision to revoke the student visas of all Hamas supporters on college campuses, after he signed an executive order aimed at addressing anti-Semitism.
In January, the U.S. president enacted an executive order titled "Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism."
Report indicate that some organizations raised concerns that the policy could be unconstitutional.
Trump had promised during his election campaign to pursue the policy in response to the attacks on October 7, 2023, in Israel and the ensuing conflict in Gaza. "I will also swiftly cancel the student visas of all Hamas supporters on college campuses, which have been overwhelmed by radicalism like never before," he stated during the campaign.
Civil rights organizations and legal experts have expressed their concerns, asserting that this new measure would infringe upon constitutional free speech rights.
They also indicated that this action will likely face legal opposition.
"The First Amendment guarantees protection to everyone in the United States, including foreign nationals studying at American universities.
Deporting non-citizens based on their political expressions would be unconstitutional," remarked Carrie DeCell, senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a prominent Muslim advocacy organization, has indicated that it might consider legal action if Trump attempts to implement this order.
The Hamas attacks, followed by the Israeli military response on the Palestinian territory of Gaza, prompted several months of pro-Palestinian demonstrations across U.S. college campuses.
