State Dept to Use AI in Visa Review of Foreign Students Expressing Pro-Hamas Sentiments

Edited by: Fern Sidman

The State Department is facing increased scrutiny as Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed a sweeping review of foreign students who have publicly expressed support for Hamas. As The Daily Mail of the UK reported on Thursday, this initiative, dubbed “Catch and Revoke,” is set to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze social media activity and other digital footprints of international students in the United States. The policy shift comes amid growing concerns over campus activism and national security following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel.

According to the information in The Daily Mail of the UK report, the State Department’s decision to deploy AI to monitor foreign student visa holders represents a significant transformation in how U.S. immigration policies intersect with digital surveillance. Officials told Axios that the technology would scan social media platforms, identifying content that might indicate support for Hamas. This marks a major departure from previous administration policies, as State Department insiders revealed that under the Biden administration, “literally zero visa revocations” had been made in response to such concerns.

One official quoted by The Daily Mail of the UK criticized what they described as a “blind eye attitude toward law enforcement,” stating that the current administration is now utilizing all available tools to identify and revoke visas for individuals who have engaged in pro-Hamas rhetoric. “It would be negligent for the department that takes national security seriously to ignore publicly available information about [visa] applicants in terms of AI tools,” the official stated.

The review process comes at a time when college campuses across the U.S. have seen a surge in anti-Israel demonstrations. The Daily Mail of the UK reported that Columbia University and Barnard College have been particularly active centers of pro-Gaza activism, with students organizing protests against Israel’s military response to Hamas’ attack.

Recently, a group of over 50 students stormed a campus building at Barnard College, with reports of at least college employee being assaulted and hospitalized. In response, the NYPD made several arrests, cracking down on masked demonstrators chanting “Free Palestine.”

The Daily Mail of the UK report highlighted that President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio have made clear their intent to reinstate stringent immigration policies.

“Under President Trump, the Immigration Nationality Act is great again,” a government official told The Daily Mail of the UK, signaling the administration’s intent to take a zero-tolerance approach to any perceived security threats. Trump himself has echoed this sentiment, demanding that federal funding be cut off from universities that permit anti-Israel protests.

“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” Trump declared in a recent social media post, as reported by The Daily Mail of the UK. His statement came in response to the growing unrest on campuses, with multiple reports of pro-Hamas ctivists disrupting classes, vandalizing property, and confronting students who support Israel.

While the State Department’s AI initiative is intended to enhance national security, the report in The Daily Mail of the UK raises concerns about its potential for overreach. Critics argue that using artificial intelligence to scan social media could lead to false positives, mistakenly penalizing individuals for posts that may be taken out of context. Moreover, civil rights organizations worry that such policies could disproportionately affect international students from the Middle East and other Muslim-majority countries.

Despite these concerns, the administration appears committed to moving forward with the “Catch and Revoke” initiative. The Daily Mail of the UK reported that officials have already reviewed over 100,000 individuals in the Student Exchange Visitor System, indicating that visa revocations could soon become a routine part of the immigration enforcement toolkit.

The policy shift follows an alarming rise in anti-Israel activism on U.S. campuses. According to The Daily Mail of the UK, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has documented 2,637 incidents of assault, vandalism, and harassment against Jewish students and pro-Israel advocates in the 2023-2024 academic year alone. This surge in incidents has led to heightened security concerns, with university administrations struggling to balance free speech rights with student safety.

Trump has made clear that, under his administration, protests would no longer be tolerated. As The Daily Mail of the UK reported, the president has proposed strict consequences for those involved in anti-Israel demonstrations, stating: “Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested.”

The “Catch and Revoke” program signals a new era of digital surveillance in U.S. immigration enforcement. The fate of thousands of foreign students now hangs in the balance as the State Department and the Trump administration move forward with this unprecedented AI-powered crackdown.