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The Trump administration is taking steps to suppress anti-Israel demonstrations on college campuses, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing Thursday that the U.S. has revoked more than 300 visas for foreign students.
"Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take their visa away," Rubio said.
His remarks at a press conference in Guyana followed the arrest of another student involved in anti-Israel protests. Rumeysa Ozturk is a Turkish national pursuing a master’s degree at Tufts University in Massachusetts and a graduate of Columbia University. She had criticized Tufts' administration for failing to recognize what she called the “genocide of the Palestinian people” and for maintaining ties with companies connected to Israel. Undercover agents arrested her near campus as she was returning from a Ramadan iftar prayer.
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Rumeysa Ozturk is a Turkish national pursuing a master’s degree at Tufts University was arrested after an Iftar dinner
"If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why you're coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we're not going to give you a visa," Rubio said. "If you lie to us and get a visa then enter the United States, and with that visa, participate in that sort of activity, we're going to take away your visa. If you lie about it, we have the right—like any country—to remove you from our country. It’s that simple.”
He added: “You were given a visa to study and earn a degree—not to become a political activist who disrupts our campuses. And if you make that choice, we’ll revoke your visa. I encourage every country to do the same. It’s insane to invite students into your country only for them to destabilize your institutions. We simply won’t tolerate it.”
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and National Security Advisor Mike Walz
(Photo: Sau; Loeb/Pool via Reuters)
Rubio further compared the situation to a guest misbehaving in someone’s home: “If you invite me to dinner at your house and I start throwing mud on the couch and spray-painting graffiti in your kitchen, I’m sure you’d throw me out. We’re doing the same thing. If you come to the U.S. as a guest and cause chaos, we don’t want you here. Go do that in your own country, not in ours.”
UC Davis Suspends Student Law Organization Over Israel Boycott
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) announced Thursday that it is suspending its student law association after the group decided to boycott individuals and organizations with ties to Israel. According to university leadership, this decision knowingly violated the school’s policy requiring student government organizations to operate with “neutrality in ideological perspectives.”
The suspension follows a statement last week from UC Davis President Professor Gary May, who emphasized that the university would not tolerate hatred against any group and that any activity violating its policies would be reviewed. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education launched an investigation into UC Davis over allegations of antisemitic harassment and discrimination, further increasing pressure on the university administration.
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In response to the suspension, the student chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) issued a strong condemnation on Instagram, calling the decision “an attempt to suppress collective student action.”
Harvard Suspends Collaboration with Birzeit University
Harvard University announced today that it is suspending its institutional relationship with Birzeit University in the West Bank due to concerns over the Palestinian university’s ties to terrorist organizations.
Following the expiration of the last memorandum of understanding between the two institutions, Harvard’s School of Public Health decided not to automatically renew it, effectively freezing formal ties. However, individual academic collaborations between researchers may continue.
This move comes amid growing pressure from the Trump administration on universities regarding their handling of antisemitism. Columbia University has already agreed to increase oversight of its Middle Eastern Studies department following criticism of anti-Israel bias. Other universities are also making adjustments to avoid potential federal intervention.