U.S. starts monitoring immigrants' social media for antisemitism
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President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the White House in January. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
U.S. officials will screen immigrants' social media accounts for antisemitic content as "grounds for denying" immigration benefit requests, the Trump administration announced in a policy that immediately went into effect Wednesday.
The big picture: The new rule that was criticized by free speech advocacy groups affects green card applicants, foreign students and immigrants "affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity," per a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services post.
Details: Consistent with President Trump's executive orders on antisemitism and foreign terrorism, the Department of Homeland Security "will enforce all relevant immigration laws to the maximum degree," the post said.
- The DHS will "protect the homeland" from extremists and terrorist, "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,'" per the post.
- Immigration officials will consider social media content that indicates the "endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity as a negative factor" on applications, the post added.
What they're saying: "There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world's terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here," said Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs.
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for anti-Semitic violence and terrorism — think again," she added. "You are not welcome here."
The other side: "By surveilling visa and green card holders and targeting them based on nothing more than their protected expression, the administration trades America's commitment to free and open discourse for fear and silence, said the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in social media posts.
- "Unfortunately, that chill appears to be the administration's aim."
Thought bubble: A little-known plan last year from the creators of Project 2025 called for using anti-Israeli remarks as a reason to deport student visa and green card holders.
- "Project Esther suggests that the administration use allegations of antisemitism as a reason to strip visas from legal residents who speak out on pro-Palestinian issues."
- The Heritage Foundation blueprint gives the administration legal arguments to pursue these measures but does not say anything about antisemitism from conservatives.
- It does not mention Elon Musk, who had a green card before he became a U.S. citizen in 2022 and who gave what scholars and rights groups said was a Hitlergruß, or Nazi salute.
Go deeper: Migrant detainees should be in El Salvador prison "for the rest of their lives," Noem says
