The U.S. Department of State reportedly plans to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help identify foreign students who have demonstrated support for Hamas and other terrorist organizations, Axios reported on Thursday.
The technology will be used to review the social media accounts of tens of thousands of student visa holders for pro-terrorism content which may then be used to revoke visa statuses, according to Axios. Violent pro-Hamas protests took over dozens of college campuses since the deadly Oct., 2023 attack on Israel, and the Trump administration has vowed to put an end to the antisemitic demonstrations.
“The Department of State is committed to protecting our nation and its citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process,” a State Department spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Those who support foreign terrorist organizations threaten our national security. The United States has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists. Violators of U.S. law, including international students, may face visa denial or revocation. The Department has broad authority to revoke visas under Section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). We exercise that authority when information comes to light indicating that a visa holder may be no longer be eligible for a visa.”
The department did not specifically confirm plans to use AI technology.
One of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises had been to put an end to the campus chaos by deporting radical foreign students to “make our college campuses safe and patriotic again.” The president recently reiterated this sentiment in a Truth Social post, saying foreign campus “Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came.”
Protesters assembled at countless universities across the country in support of the terrorist group, pitching illegal multi-week encampments, disrupting university functions and harassing Jewish students. The events culminated into federal investigations into several of the biggest offenders, which found that many universities failed to address the violence or enact any meaningful punishment for demonstrators, and at times, even condoned the antisemitism.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has taken a clear stance against terrorist supporters, stating in a recent X post that such individuals pose a national security threat.
“Those who support designated terrorist organizations, including Hamas, threaten our national security,” Rubio said. “The United States has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists. Violators of U.S. law — including international students — face visa denial or revocation, and deportation.”
Those who support designated terrorist organizations, including Hamas, threaten our national security. The United States has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists. Violators of U.S. law — including international students — face visa denial or revocation, and…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 6, 2025
Trump previously blamed the Biden administration for failing to properly address the incidents on campuses.
“What’s going on at the college level and the colleges Columbia, NYU University, this is a disgrace. And it’s really on Biden,” Trump said in April 2024. “He has the wrong signal. He has the wrong tone. He’s got the wrong words. He doesn’t know who he’s backing. And it’s a mess.”
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