Trump's Administration Deported People Who Criticized Israel

Criticizing a foreign government may now get you deported.

Our Analysis

Under Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio, diplomats must now review the social media accounts and communications of those on student and other visas and will bar those who are suspected of criticizing the US or Israel from entering the country.

The right to free speech in the US is a historically radical foundational belief that – perhaps more than anything else – has led to America's success.

Effectively making it illegal to criticize the actions of a foreign government is an unprecedented assault on free speech and expression. Even if you fully agree with Israel's recent and historical actions, giving the government the power to reject people on such broad lines is chilling.

When the next "forbidden" topic arises, are you sure you won't be the next one being silenced or deported?

Sources

Both sides aren't the same:

What the "other side" did

Under President Obama, students were singled out for protection from deportation and deportations were instead focused on those who commit crimes.

Additionally under President Biden, students – even those criticizing Israel and participating in pro-Palestinian activism – were protected from deportation while exercising their First Amendment rights. President Trump's administration even remarked that "we found literally zero visa revocations during the Biden administration."

While Biden's record on Palestine is objectively horrible, to put it mildly, free speech was still allowed and protected.

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