Will pro-Palestine students be deported from the US? The 'patriotic universities' project

Human rights advocates in the US stated that the executive order signed on Monday could be used to 'suppress international students who are legally present in the US and support Palestine.' The order paves the way for 'conducting intelligence activities' against foreign students.

Activists in the US are alarmed by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which they claim lays the groundwork for a new travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Deepa Alagesan, an attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), reported that the new regulation is 'bigger and worse' than the 'xenophobic' travel ban Trump imposed on several Muslim-majority countries during his first term.

In her statement, Alagesan noted the following:

'The worst part of it (the executive order) right now is that it doesn't just ban people who want to come to the US from entering the country, but it also lays the groundwork for removing people from the US.'

Students opposing the genocide in Palestine at universities in the US had occupied some campuses

THEY WILL COLLECT INTELLIGENCE ON FOREIGNERS

The new executive order instructs US officials to prepare a list of 'countries whose citizens have insufficient vetting and screening information to warrant the suspension of their admission to the US, in whole or in part.'

The order will enable the determination of the number of people entering the US from these countries and the collection of 'relevant' information regarding their 'actions and activities.'

The White House further ordered that 'immediate steps be taken' for the deportation of foreigners 'when information supporting exclusion or deportation is identified.'

Some academics and doctoral students at US universities also organized demonstrations in support of Palestine

EFFORTS TO DEPORT ACTIVIST STUDENTS

Following the start of the genocide in Gaza, solidarity demonstrations were held at universities across the US. Israel supporters, particularly Republicans, labeled the activist students a threat to campus safety and called on Biden to take action against the protesters.

The order instructs US officials to 'provide recommendations' to 'protect' US citizens from foreign nationals who 'preach the overthrow or alteration of the culture upon which the constitutional Republic is based through sectarian violence, or provide aid, advocacy, or support to foreign terrorists.'

Meanwhile, Globe Eye News, which broadcasts on X, claimed that 'a Jewish group operating in the US' had provided the Trump administration with a list of 'pro-Hamas' foreign students to be deported.

While the Globe Eye News report did not specify which Jewish group was being referred to, no source was provided for the news either.

COMPARING ACTIVISTS TO 'AL-QAEDA MILITANTS'

Both Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously called for the deportation of international students supporting Palestine. In October 2023, Rubio sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for the deportation of international students who participated in protests for Palestine.

The letter suggested similarities between the protesting students and the 9/11 attackers, mentioning 'lessons learned on September 11, 2001, the day terrorists, many of whom were educated in the United States, carried out the deadliest attack on American soil.'

Rubio addressed Biden with these words:

''Unfortunately, twenty-two years later, our country is witnessing open demonstrations where pro-terror people take to the streets and endorse Hamas's brutal attacks against the State of Israel.''

Rubio's claims contained significant distortions. Those who carried out the 9/11 attack were not students studying in the US. The entire team had been sent to the US by Al-Qaeda a few years to a few months before the attack, and some had received specialized pilot training. However, none of the attackers had studied at US universities.

The Republican Party's 2024 platform demanded the deportation of 'pro-Hamas radicals' to make university campuses 'safe and patriotic' again.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio