Trump Administration Eyes Sanctions on Colleges That Harbor Too Many Hamas ‘Supporters’ as Arrests of Foreign Students Gathers Pace

The Trump Administration is reportedly mulling plans to block foreign students from attending certain colleges if they deem that too many of an institution’s students are “pro-Hamas.” The plan allegedly involves revoking certifications under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program for colleges and universities that have a large number of student-visa holders using the American education system as a work-around to gain employment and live in the country.“Every institution that has foreign students … will go through some sort of review,” a senior State Department official tells Axios. “You can have so many bad apples in one place that it leads to decertification of the school.”“I don’t think we’re at that point yet. But it is not an empty threat,” the anonymous official said.International students continue to be detained by Immigration Customs and Enforcement on different campuses across the country. One of those detained, a Turkish national attending Tufts University at Boston, was told she was being held by the Department of Homeland Security because she is accused of being a Hamas “supporter.”PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested by ICE officers in the Boston suburbs on Tuesday night while on her way to meet friends, according to her attorney. “Rumeysa was heading to meet with friends to break her Ramadan fast on the evening of March 25th when she was detained near her home in Somerville,” Mahsa Khanbabai told ABC News, adding that the student’s valid F-1 Visa status was revoked.Officials with Homeland Security claimed that Ms. Ozturk had her visa revoked because of her support of Hamas. “DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans,” a DHS spokesman said in a statement. “A visa is a privilege not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is common sense security.”DHS officials did not specify what kind of support Ms. Ozturk provided for Hamas. She is currently being held at an ICE processing center in Louisiana.Also on Tuesday, another doctoral student from the University of Alabama was detained by ICE officials. Alireza Doroudi, who is a mechanical engineering student from Iran, was arrested at his home during the early morning hours, according to UA student publication, the Crimson White.In a group chat that included other Iranian UA students, it was alleged that his F-1 student visa was also revoked.“After receiving the revocation notice, Alireza immediately contacted ISSS [International Student and Scholar Services] at the University of Alabama,” the message said. “ISSS replied with confidence, stating that his case was not unusual or problematic and that he could remain in the U.S. legally as long as he maintained his student status.”It was not immediately clear why Mr. Doroudi was arrested.

Trump Administration Eyes Sanctions on Colleges That Harbor Too Many Hamas ‘Supporters’ as Arrests of Foreign Students Gathers Pace

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