Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) declared that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must deport foreign nationals who have voiced support for Hamas after the terrorist group’s brutal attack on Israel earlier this month.
Cotton wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday in which he challenged the Biden administration to abide by federal law, which requires foreign nationals to be deported if they support or endorse terrorist activity.
“I write to urge you to immediately deport any foreign national—including and especially any alien on a student visa — that has expressed support for Hamas and its murderous attacks on Israel. These fifth-columnists have no place in the United States,” Cotton wrote, according to Fox News.
“Federal law is clear that any alien who ‘endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization’ is inadmissible and must be deported,” the senator added.
There were thousands of demonstrators in the U.S. who hit the streets to voice their support for Palestinians and condemn Israel immediately following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel that killed over 1,400 people. Several dozen student groups, as well as professors, at American universities, voiced support for Palestinians and downplayed Hamas’ terrorism after the attack, raising alarm among many lawmakers.
“Swiftly removing and permanently barring from future reentry any foreign student who signed onto or shared approvingly the anti-Semitic letter from the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee on October 7 would be a good place to start,” Cotton told Mayorkas in his letter.
Thousands of anti-Israel activists marched throughout the country last week with large rallies being held in New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Dearborn, Michigan. Cotton called this an “appalling explosion of anti-Semitism.” City and state officials in New York and Los Angeles were on high alert last Friday as anti-Israel demonstrators gathered on the same day a former Hamas leader called for a “day of jihad.”
“The appalling explosion of anti-Semitism in the United States over the past few weeks should disturb anyone who shares American values,” Cotton wrote. “While American citizens may have a First Amendment right to speak disgusting vitriol if they so choose, no foreign national has a right to advocate for terrorism in the United States.”
Sen. Cotton urges DHS to deport foreign nationals who support Hamas: ‘No place in the United States’ https://t.co/N76z3innHf pic.twitter.com/7THLBzzwNp
— New York Post (@nypost) October 17, 2023
