Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said last week that foreign-born students who support Hamas should be deported. The comment came amid the increasingly antisemitic protests on a number of college campuses that have resulted in hundreds of arrests.
“If you’re in America on a student visa and you’re supporting Hamas, then it’s time for you to go!” Rubio said on social media.
“What I am saying is common sense,” he says. “You’re a visitor; you’re not even American; you’re a foreign national. You’re here because we gave you a visa to be here temporarily, and now you’re out there defending and supporting Hamas, a terrorist organization?” he said on the Senate floor last year.
The senator introduced a resolution calling for President Joe Biden to revoke the visas of individuals who back terrorist organizations, including Hamas. However, the resolution did not pass after resistance from Senate Democrats.
Hamas conducted the terrorist attack last Oct. 7 that killed about 1,200 civilians.
The senator’s comments also came amid a cascade of anti-American and anti-Israel messages. Following the clearing of a building occupied by students on Columbia University’s campus, the NYPD reported that some of the literature found included messages such as “death to America.”
Furthermore, students at George Washington University Law School draped a statue of former President George Washington with the Palestinian flag and headscarf.
In response, faculty members from the school hung a large American flag off the side of a building.
Some #UCLA protesters are #Communists. We cannot imprison #US citizens who are Communists for their advocacy, but we can deport noncitizens who promote dangerous ideologies. Get these disruptive foreign elements off our soil now. https://t.co/kuIIaSy8ey
— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) May 4, 2024
Rubio is not the only member of Congress to have an opinion on the college protests. The daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was arrested for trespassing after aiding an occupation of an academic building. Omar said that she was proud of her daughter and later visited protesters at Columbia University.
Other prominent Republicans have made similar pledges as Rubio in the past. This included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who said last year that pro-Hamas protesters on student visas should be deported.
