The Department of Homeland Security will begin screening visa applicants’ social media content for “antisemitic activity,” it announced on Wednesday.
“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,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said. “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 antisemitic violence and terrorism — think again. You are not welcome here.”
In this Feb. 2, 2023, file photo, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services seal is displayed on a mobile phone screen.
NurPhoto via Getty Images, FILE
The directive from the department allows for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service to begin “considering” any antisemitic activity “immediately” when screening those applying for lawful permanent resident status, as well as foreign students and those affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity.
USCIS will consider “social media content that indicates an alien endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity as a negative factor in any USCIS discretionary analysis when adjudicating immigration benefit requests,” according to a release from the agency.
A Department of Homeland Security logo is displayed while Secretary Kristi Noem speaks to employees at the Department of Homeland Security, Jan. 28, 2025, in Washington.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/Pool via Reuters
Similar guidance was issued by the State Department in March.
A cable sent to consulates around the world called for a review of social media for foreign students and student exchange visitors and has directed visa denials if their applications for visas are inconsistent with their visa classifications.
“If the social media review uncovers potentially derogatory information indicating that the applicant may not be eligible for a visa, Fraud Prevention Units are required take screenshots of social media findings to the extent it is relevant to visa eligibility, to preserve the record against the applicants later alteration of the information,” per the cable, which was obtained by ABC News last month.
In this Dec. 19, 2023 file photo, a boy looks at an iPhone screen showing various social media apps in Bath, England.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images, FILE
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 28 that more than 300 visas had already been revoked under the criteria.
The cable also encouraged revocations based on perceived “hostile attitudes” toward U.S. culture or values and raised questions about whether this blurs the line between national security vetting and viewpoint discrimination.
