A group of Republican lawmakers in the House is demanding that the government revoke the temporary visas of foreign students who have expressed support for Hamas following the terror group’s deadly massacres in Israel on October 7, Fox News reported.
In a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a group of 19 lawmakers led by Republican Congressmen Jim Banks (R-IN) and Jeff Duncan (R-SC) requested information on non-immigrant foreign nationals who are potentially violating the law by endorsing terrorist activity from US soil.
The lawmakers point out that foreign nationals on student visas can be disqualified from being eligible for a visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act if they espouse or endorse terrorist activity.
While support for terrorists is checked when students apply for a visa, visa holders can have their visas revoked if they breach the terms of their visa once in the United States.
In a press release last Friday, Rep. Banks argued that the US has already seen a “record number” of illegal aliens from terrorist-supporting countries crossing the border and said in addition to closing the border, the government must also deport foreign nationals who are “Hamas sympathizers.” Banks said that the Biden administration has both “the authority and an obligation” to do so.
The effort by House Republicans comes just days after Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio presented a resolution calling for the revocation of visas and deportation of foreign nationals who support Hamas.
Senator Rubio’s office told Fox News that the senator planned to “hotline” the resolution, meaning he would seek to pass it through unanimous consent rather than going through the usual procedure of a full debate and vote on the Senate floor.
The resolution requests that the Biden administration revoke the visas of foreign nationals who are espousing or endorsing the actions of Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, or any terror group attacking Israel. It calls for the administration to begin deportation proceedings against such visa holders.
Senator Rubio’s unanimous consent request was blocked by the Senate Democrats.
