American universities have been under siege by blatantly antisemitic protesters ever since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel.
These protesters have disrupted learning, assaulted Jewish students, attacked law enforcement and damaged property.
This behavior is not protected by the First Amendment; it is hateful law-breaking.
University responses have varied, with some canceling or scaling down graduation ceremonies, depriving seniors of this sacred rite of passage after years of study and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition.
Foreign students involved in such activities — and in even more nefarious ones, like the possible attempted terror attack at Marine Corps Base Quantico this month — should be held accountable under our immigration laws.
And they would be, if former president Donald Trump was in the White House today.
Foreign nationals, including foreign students on temporary visas, do not have the right to enter the United States.
Their visas, granted at the discretion of the federal government, can be revoked if they violate the terms.
To obtain a student visa, a foreign national must study at an eligible institution and meet admissibility criteria set by Congress.
This eligibility should be monitored continuously to enforce consequences for any violations.
Based on reporting from campuses around the country, at least four grounds of inadmissibility may have been triggered by foreign students participating in pro-Hamas demonstrations: committing crimes involving moral turpitude, espousing or providing support of terrorist activities, adversely affecting US foreign policy and misrepresenting facts in the visa process.
The United States recognizes Hamas as a terrorist organization and Israel as a close ally.
Advocacy for Hamas and assaults on Jewish students by foreign protesters are unacceptable.
It does not matter if these foreign students hid their animus during the visa process or if they became radicalized on American campuses.
The Homeland Security Department should investigate their involvement and, if warranted, find them inadmissible.
The State Department must then revoke their visas, making them unlawfully present.
This should make them a top removal priority for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement if they do not leave voluntarily.
But the consequences should not end there.
Any foreign student removed on grounds of supporting terrorism should be barred from reentering the United States for multiple years.
There is no place in our country for terror supporters, and they should be subject to enhanced vetting procedures if they ever request another visa.
The misconduct of pro-Hamas protesters is a reminder that the current foreign student visa system is deeply flawed and in dire need of reform.
Unlike most visa categories that carry a defined period of admission, foreign students receive special treatment: Their behavior controls how long they can stay in our country.
A foreign student could hypothetically remain in the US indefinitely on a temporary visa if he or she continues to pursue degrees or educational certificates.
As a result of this special treatment, foreign students do not receive sufficient screening and vetting throughout their time in our country.
When foreign students drop out of school, their unlawful presence does not start until they are caught.
Those who come here to commit espionage or intellectual property theft, or who otherwise pose a threat to national security, know the likelihood of facing immigration consequences is minimal.
According to reports, one of the Jordanians who tried to infiltrate Quantico on May 3 was here on a student visa, raising serious questions about his activities.
As Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, I oversaw the rulemaking process that would have ended this special treatment for foreign students.
The Trump administration’s reforms would have instituted a defined admissions period, added enhanced screening and vetting and restored integrity to this part of the legal immigration system.
We nearly finished the regulation before the end of President Trump’s term — and my successor promptly withdrew this commonsense reform.
The America First approach to foreign students is one that welcomes their contributions to our educational system but ensures that those we allow into our country do not do so to cause harm.
Chad Wolf is the former Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Executive Director and Chair of the Center for Homeland Security & Immigration at the America First Policy Institute.
