US President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order on Wednesday (Jan 29) to tackle antisemitism, which will lead to the deportation of all non-citizen college students and residents who participated in pro-Palestinian protests in the US, news agency Reuters reported, citing a White House official.
As per a document cited by Reuters, the US President will order the Justice Department to "aggressively prosecute terroristic threats, arson, vandalism and violence against American Jews.”
"To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you," Trump said in the document.
"I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathisers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before,” he added.
The order will require government agencies and departments to submit recommendations to the White House within 60 days on the criminal and civil measures available to combat antisemitism. It will also call for "the removal of resident aliens who violate our laws."
During his 2024 election campaign, Trump pledged to deport students in the US on visas whom he labelled "pro-Hamas."
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On his first day back in office, he signed an executive order that, according to rights groups, paves the way for the reinstatement of a travel ban affecting individuals from predominantly Muslim or Arab nations. The order also grants broader powers to deny visas based on ideological grounds and to expel individuals already residing in the country.
The Hamas attacks and Israel's subsequent military action in Gaza led to months of pro-Palestinian protests across US universities. Civil rights organisations have reported an increase in antisemitic, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic incidents during this period.
(With inputs from agencies)