Trump Administration to Use Al to Revoke Visas of Anti-Genocide Students
Washington (Quds News Network)- The Trump administration is reportedly introducing an AI-assisted effort to revoke the visas of anti-genocide student protesters calling them “pro-Hamas”, a move that raises significant concerns about free speech in the United States.
According to Axios, the program, dubbed “Catch and Revoke,” was launched by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and aims to cancel the visas of foreign nationals suspected of endorsing Hamas or other designated terrorist organizations. The initiative involves AI-powered reviews of the social media activity of tens of thousands of student visa holders, with a focus on identifying support for Hamas following its October 7, 2023 operation on Israel.
Officials plan to use internal databases to investigate whether any visa holders, particularly those arrested under the Biden administration, were allowed to remain in the country. They will also examine news reports about “anti-Israel demonstrations and Jewish students’ lawsuits that highlight foreign nationals allegedly engaged in antisemitic activity without consequence.”
The “Catch and Revoke” initiative started by analyzing 100,000 student records in the Student Exchange Visitor System since October 2023. Federal officials reportedly found that no visas had been revoked during the Biden administration for students who had been arrested or suspended from school.
The Immigration Nationality Act of 1952 gives the secretary of state the authority to revoke visas from foreigners deemed to be a threat —a point Rubio made as a senator eight days after Oct. 7.
“We see people marching at our universities and in the streets of our country … calling for Intifada, celebrating what Hamas has done … Those people need to go,” Rubio said.
Trump echoed the same sentiments in a Jan. 30 White House fact sheet tied to an executive order aimed at antisemitism at “pro-Hamas” activity: “To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice. We will find you, and we will deport you.”
The senior State Department official said that “it would be negligent for the department that takes national security seriously to ignore publicly available information about [visa] applicants in terms of AI tools. … AI is one of the resources available to the government that’s very different from where we were technologically decades ago.”
If officials find a social media post from a foreign national that appears to endorse the operation on Israel and looks “pro-Hamas,” the official said, that could be grounds for visa revocation.
“Under President Trump, the Immigration Nationality Act is great again,” the official added.
The “Catch and Revoke” effort adds to a growing trend of actions taken against the pro-Palestine student movement, including Trump’s cancellation of a $400 million grant to Columbia University and an investigation into the University of California regarding concerns over antisemitism.
Reactions to the announcement have received criticism, with many questions as to what this could mean for freedom of speech in general in the US.
The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) said, “In a nation founded on the principles of free speech and expression, any government program that punishes non-violent, constitutionally protected human rights protests and advocacy should alarm every American.”
The group added, “Congress must immediately investigate the legal basis and technological methods behind this program to ensure it is not trampling on individuals’ legally protected speech or propping up a foreign nation’s interests over our constitutional principles.”
“Americans should not stand by while U.S. agencies misuse flawed AI technology and questionable tactics to criminalize moral outrage at genocide, ethnic cleansing, and other war crimes committed against Palestinians.”
According to reports, the State Department has already revoked the visa of one student.
On Saturday night, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and a key negotiator for pro-Palestine protesters. Agents entered a student residential building in uptown New York and took him into custody.
THE STATE DEPT OF ISRAEL
Columbia Post-Grad student who is a green card holder & married to a US citizen is detained by DHS for deportation b/c he protested against Israel’s Genocide
Trump & Marco Rubio’s “Catch & Revoke” policy is PROJECT ESTHER’s attack on the Constitution https://t.co/YUBrQ1B1eY
— GenXGirl (@GenXGirl1994) March 9, 2025
This is "catch and revoke" scheme is ludicrous. One can be pro-Palestine, against the genocide currently occurring in Gaza, and NOT be "pro-Hamas." The Trump administration refuses to see that differentiation. https://t.co/1nZcdeFrdy
— Christa Mariner (@MarinerChrista) March 7, 2025
