Prisoners stand looking out from their cell as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks while touring the Terrorist Confinement Center, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 26, 2025. Photo: Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Wednesday that it will monitor social media platforms for antisemitic speech and conduct as a basis for denying permanent residency status and immigration benefits.

The agency announced that the new policy is set to take effect immediately and will be applicable to both green card applicants and international students.

USCIS will specifically search for expressions of support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and the Houthis — all of which regularly call for the killing of Jews and the destruction of Israel. Social media posts that reflect, promote, or endorse “antisemitic activity” will be considered in the discretionary evaluation process for immigration benefits.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has emphasized issuing punishment and deportation for non-citizens who support antisemitic violence and terrorism, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

“The United States has no tolerance for those who sympathize with terrorists from around the globe, and we are not required to allow them entry or permit them to remain in our country,” McLaughlin stated.

“Secretary Noem has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for antisemitic violence and terrorism – think again. You are not welcome here,” McLaughlin added.

In addition, the agency says that it will consider social media posts it deems as “endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting” antisemitic conduct or terrorist organizations.

In the months following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, universities in the US have emerged as hubs of anti-Israel activism. Last spring, anti-Israel students and faculty erected so-called “Gaza solidarity encampments,” occupying sections of campus and refusing to leave unless the school agreed to a boycott of Israel. Many Jewish students have reported incidents of bullying and exclusion because of their religious identity and support for Israel during the protests.

During his 2024 presidential campaign, US President Donald Trump vowed to deport non-citizens who express support for Hamas and other antisemitic organizations. He has also promised not to import refugees from “terror-infested” parts of the world, deeming them hotbeds of antisemitism and anti-American sentiment.

“We will deport the foreign jihad sympathizers, and we will deport them very quickly. And Hamas supporters will be gone,” Trump said. “If you hate America, if you want to eliminate Israel, then we don’t want you in our country. We really don’t want you in our country.”

Nico Perrino, executive vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, condemned the new directive from the Trump administration.

“Surveillance of protected speech shows the Trump administration is trading the country’s commitment to free and open discourse for fear and silence,” Perrino said. “Unfortunately, that chill appears to be the administration’s aim.”

During his initial months in the White House, Trump has issued a series of directives aimed at reining in antisemitic conduct. The White House has withheld federal funds from universities that it claims have failed to protect Jewish students from discrimination. In addition, the White House has moved to deport non-citizens who have participated in anti-Israel demonstrations or spread antisemitic rhetoric.

According to recent polling data from Harvard-Harris, most Americans, 63 percent, believe that the Trump administration should “deport” foreign students who “voice support” for terrorist groups like Hamas, while a slightly higher 67 percent want such deportations for non-citizens on campuses who “actively support” such terrorist groups.