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Foreign students say the threat of Trump's executive orders is getting real

Published

12 months ago

March 3, 2025

Foreign students say the threat of Trump's executive orders is getting real

Pro-Palestinian students hold up Palestinian flags during UMass Amherst graduation ceremonies in May 2024. They left the graduation event in protest.

John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

It was billed as a “Palestine Night” gala and fundraiser, with proceeds going to families in Gaza. At the campus student center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, students in traditional Palestinian red and black robes mingled with others amid tables selling jewelry and keffiyeh head coverings, a photo booth, and prayer mats.

The annual event, put on by Students for Justice in Palestine, is usually a big draw, but this year, more than a few students were nervous about showing up.

“I was scared that I would get photographed or something, and that would cause a problem,” said one foreign student in the U.S. who asked that her name not be used for fear of jeopardizing her visa. “My dad knows that I am very pro-Palestine, and he was like be very careful, like you don’t want to take any risks.”

People dance and wave large Israeli flags during a rally against campus antisemitism at George Washington University in May 2024 in Washington, D.C.

The risks for foreign students have heightened dramatically since President Trump’s recent executive orders cracking down on those deemed to be supporting U.S.-designated terrorist groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, and the directives already appear to be chilling political activism.

One order targets foreigners who “threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology” or “support designated foreign terrorists.” A second order meant to combat antisemitism specifically targets “Hamas sympathizers on college campuses.” Both call for strict enforcement of existing immigration laws that bar visas for any such foreigners.

“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice,” Trump said. “We will find you, and we will deport you.”

Abed Ayoub, head of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, say the threat is getting real. He says the ADC has heard from at least a dozen students who left the U.S. for winter break and were unable to return because their visas were cancelled — with no explanation given.

“Two of them have no involvement at all with student activism on campus. They just happened to be from Gaza,” Ayoub says. “This should be a concern of all Americans because this opens the door to really criminalizing any speech and any expression in the nation.”

Asked for confirmation that visas were cancelled, a State Department spokesperson said they could not comment because of confidentiality laws. The spokesperson said that “the State Department generally revokes visas when information comes to light indicating that an applicant may no longer be eligible for the visa under U.S. immigration laws, including when an applicant poses a threat to U.S. public safety and national security.”

Some students welcome the orders, saying any student who crosses the line from pro-Palestinian advocacy to supporting terrorist groups is not acceptable on campus. And they say it’s too early to say that any crackdown will probe to be an overreach. But others are fearful, laying low for the moment and skipping events and protests, or showing up anyway, with trepidation, like the student at the “Palestine Night” event who asked that her name not be used.

“I feel like college is a time when we should be able to speak freely,” she said. “I’ve been raised with the values that I should be vocal about what I believe in, so it almost feels like I’m lying to myself when I can’t say what I feel.”

Trump’s order on antisemitism calls on schools to monitor their foreign students and staff — and report those who are “Hamas sympathizers” or “pro-jihadist,” as Trump put it. Schools contacted by NPR declined to comment on how they will comply with the directive, or said only that they’re still reviewing it.

Meantime, pro-Israel groups say they’re receiving a growing number of tips accusing campus activists of supporting U.S.-designated terrorist organizations.

“One of my friends … was texting me frantically”

It’s all fueling concerns that “support” will be over-broadly interpreted, and authorities will be cracking down even on peaceful protesters, the majority of whom are focused on human rights and divestment. Many students worry that Trump’s orders are a thinly veiled attempt to silence any pro-Palestinian advocacy.

“Their main target is anyone who supports Palestine in any way shape or form,” says another student, an American citizen born to Palestinian parents, who asked not to be named for fear of harassment. He says his friends on student visas are terrified that even an old post or photo could come back to haunt them.

“One of my friends actually was texting me frantically” in the middle of the night, he recalls. “His face was in one of those posts, and he was texting me, ‘Can we get this post removed?’ And that kind of hit me, this is serious.”

Some college newspapers are hearing the same concerns, so much so that the student newspaper at Purdue University, The Purdue Exponent, decided to give blanket anonymity to all students at all pro-Palestinian protests. The paper even scrubbed all protesters’ names and photos from its archives, explaining that it “refuses to be party to such a blatant violation of the First Amendment rights.”

Other students, however, have denounced the paper’s new policy, saying that’ll make it tougher to hold protesters accountable and to restore safety and stability to campuses.

“I think that’s wrong,” says Sabrina Soffer, a pro-Israel student at George Washington University. “It’s like when [protesters] wear masks. It’s just another way to put another obstacle in the way of holding students accountable.”

Of course, Soffer says, implementation of the executive orders must be thoughtful and judicious. “Being pro-Palestinian is not being pro-jihad,” she says. “But at the same time, we have to be scrupulous enough to make sure that those who really are a threat and who are connected to these terrorist organizations are the ones held accountable.”

Maia Shteyman, a pro-Israel student from UMass Amherst, agrees. Students demanding humanitarian aid in Gaza, criticizing Israel or waving a Palestinian flag, for example, are not the issue, Shteyman says. But, she says, she’s seen some protesters openly supporting U.S.-labeled terrorist groups on her campus, and that needs to be addressed.

“They were wearing Hamas-like uniforms, with the headbands, and there were intifada signs everywhere [saying] ‘Go Hamas,’ and pro-Hamas stuff. They were just saying this stuff straight up to our face,” Shteyman says.

“I think it’s much more common that you might imagine, that there are people actually coordinating with Hamas, that they are acting as the PR agents of Hamas,” says attorney Mark Goldfeder, director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center. He has filed a federal lawsuit alleging direct ties between student groups and U.S.-designated terrorist organizations, and some protesters’ explicit support for them.

“They are saying, ‘We are Hamas and we want to do these things,’ ” Goldfeder says. “It behooves us to believe them and to take precautions for our national security. It is genuinely dangerous. And you don’t even have to like the Jews to worry about it because they’re coming for the United States, as well.”

Deportation attempts likely to wind up in court

Ultimately, any effort to deport a student for protest activity is all but certain to be challenged in court.

“The government would have a huge First Amendment hurdle to overcome if it sought to go after someone for their pure speech,” says David Cole, Georgetown Law professor and former national legal director with the American Civil Liberties Union. “If it were enforced, it would be, I believe, struck down.”

Others take a different view. Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, is also a staunch free speech proponent. But in this case, he says, “It’s not about policing or prosecuting speech, it’s about enforcing immigration regulations, and immigration regulations say that if you espouse support for certain groups that are inimical to the American interest, then you don’t get a visa, or if you’re here already then your visa gets revoked.”

Meantime, pro-Palestinian students are left contemplating their risk. Some, like a 27-year old graduate student from the West Bank, who asked that his name not be used for fear of being targeted, says he will continue to speak out.

“I mean my people are being slaughtered there and dehumanized,” he says. “I’m not going to just sit down there and just be afraid of speaking out, no matter what the consequences are.”

Still, he did reach out to a free-speech advocacy group to make sure he’s got help lined up just in case, as he put it, someone wants to “get rid of” him.

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Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links

Published

6 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links

Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to give deposition Friday to a congressional committee investigating his links to Jeffrey Epstein, one day after Hillary Clinton testified before the committee and called the proceedings “partisan political theatre” and “an insult to the American people”.

During remarks before the House oversight committee, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, insisted on Thursday that she had never met Epstein.

The former Democratic president, however, flew on Epstein’s private jet several times in the early 2000s but said he never visited his island.

Clinton, who engaged in an extramarital affair while president and has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women, also appears in a photo from the recently released files, in a hot tub with Epstein and a woman whose identity is redacted.

Clinton has denied the sexual misconduct claims and was not charged with any crimes. He also has not been accused of any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.

Epstein visited the White House at least 17 times during the early years of Clinton’s presidency, according to White House visitor records cited in news reports. Clinton said he cut ties with him around 2005, before the disgraced financier, who died from suicide in 2019, pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor in Florida.

The House committee subpoenaed the Clintons in August. They initially refused to testify but agreed after Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt.

The Clintons asked for their depositions to be held publicly, with the former president stating that to do so behind closed doors would amount to a “kangaroo court”.

“Let’s stop the games + do this the right way: in a public hearing,” Clinton said on X earlier this month.

The committee’s chair, James Comer, did not grant their request, and the proceedings will be conducted behind closed doors with video to be released later.

On Thursday, Hillary Clinton’s proceedings were briefly halted after representative Lauren Boebert leaked an image of Clinton testifying.

During the full day deposition, Clinton said she had no information about Epstein and did not recall ever meeting him.

Before the deposition, Comer said it would be a long interview and that one with Bill Clinton would be “even longer”.

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Read Judge Schiltz’s Order

Published

16 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

CASE 0:26-cv-00107-PJS-DLM

Doc. 12-1 Filed 02/26/26

Page 5 of 17

and to file a status update by 11:00 am on January 20. ECF No. 5. Respondents never provided a bond hearing and did not release Petitioner until January 21, ECF Nos. 10, 12, after failing to file an update, ECF No. 9. Further, Respondents released Petitioner subject to conditions despite the Court’s release order not providing for conditions. ECF Nos. 5, 12–13.

Abdi W. v. Trump, et al., Case No. 26-CV-00208 (KMM/SGE)

On January 21, 2026, the Court ordered Respondents, within 3 days, to either (a) complete Petitioner’s inspection and examination and file a notice confirming completion, or (b) release Petitioner immediately in Minnesota and confirm the date, time, and location of release. ECF No. 7. No notice was ever filed. The Court emailed counsel on January 27, 2026, at 10:39 am. No response was provided.

Adriana M.Y.M. v. David Easterwood, et al., Case No. 26-CV-213 (JWB/JFD)

On January 24, 2026, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and ordered Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release, or anticipated release, within 48 hours. ECF No. 12. Respondent was not released until January 30, and Respondents never disclosed the time of release, instead describing it as “early this morning.” ECF No. 16.

Estefany J.S. v. Bondi, Case No. 26-CV-216 (JWB/SGE)

On January 13, 2026, at 10:59 am, the Court ordered Respondents to file a letter by 4:00 pm confirming Petitioner’s current location. ECF No. 8. After receiving no response, the Court ordered Respondents, at 5:11 pm, to immediately confirm Petitioner’s location and, by noon on January 14, file a memorandum explaining their failure to comply with the initial order. ECF No. 9. Respondents did not file the memorandum, requiring the Court to issue another order. ECF No. 12. On January 15, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and required Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release within 48 hours. ECF No. 18. On January 20, having received no confirmation, the Court ordered Respondents to comply immediately. ECF No. 21. Respondents informed the Court that Petitioner was released in Minnesota on January 17, but did not specify the time. ECF No. 22.

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News

Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin

Published

19 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin

James Hickman holds a photo montage of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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CHICAGO — A line of mourners streamed through a Chicago auditorium Thursday to pay final respects to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. as cross-country memorial services began in the city the late civil rights leader called home.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson died Tuesday at the age of 84.

The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate will lie in repose for two days at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition before events in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, where he was born.

Family members wiped away tears as the casket was brought into the stately brick building. Flowers lined the sidewalks where people waiting to enter watched a large screen playing video excerpts of Jackson’s notable speeches. Some raised their fists in solidarity.

The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

Nam Y. Huh/AP

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Nam Y. Huh/AP

Inside, Jackson’s children, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Rev. Al Sharpton were among those who stood by the open casket to shake hands and hug those coming to view the body of Jackson, dressed in a suit and blue shirt and tie.

“The challenge for us is that we’ve got to make sure that all he lived for was not in vain,” Sharpton told reporters. “Dr. King’s dream and Jesse Jackson’s mission now falls on our shoulders. We’ve got to stand up and keep it going.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks as Jesse Jackson Jr. listens after the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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Jackson died last week at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak in his later years.

Remembrances have already poured in from around the globe, and several U.S. states, including Minnesota, Iowa and North Carolina, are flying flags at half-staff in his honor.

But perhaps nowhere has his death been felt as strongly as in the nation’s third-largest city, where Jackson lived for decades and raised his six children, including a son who is a congressman.

Bouquets have been left outside the family’s Tudor-style home on the city’s South Side for days. Public schools have offered condolences, and city trains have used digital screens to display Jackson’s portrait and his well-known mantra, “I am Somebody!”

People wait to enter the security checkpoint for the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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His causes, both in the United States and abroad, were countless: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, job opportunities, education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.

Family members stand in front of a portrait of the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

How the Rev. Jesse Jackson transformed American politics

“We honor him, and his hard-earned legacy as a freedom fighter, philosopher, and faithful shepherd of his family and community here in Chicago,” the mayor said in a statement.

Next week, Jackson will lie in honor at the South Carolina Statehouse, followed by public services. According to Rainbow PUSH’s agenda, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to deliver remarks; however, the governor’s office said Thursday that his participation wasn’t yet confirmed. Jackson spent his childhood and started his activism in South Carolina.

Details on services in Washington have not yet been made public. However, he will not lie in honor at the United States Capitol rotunda after a request for the commemoration was denied by the House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.

The two weeks of events will wrap up next week with a large celebration of life gathering at a Chicago megachurch and finally, homegoing services at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Family members said the services will be open to all.

“Our family is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the amazing amount of support being offered by common, ordinary people who our father’s life has come into contact with,” his eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said before the services began. “This is a unique opportunity to lay down some of the political rhetoric and to lay down some of the division that deeply divides our country and to reflect upon a man who brought people together.”

The family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives as Yusep Jackson wipes his eyes before public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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The services included prayers from some of the city’s most well-known religious leaders, including Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich. Mourners of all ages — from toddlers in strollers to elderly people in wheelchairs — came to pay respects.

Video clips of his appearances at news conferences, the campaign trail and even “Sesame Street” also played inside the auditorium.

Claudette Redic, a retiree who lives in Chicago, said her family has respected Jackson, from backing his presidential ambitions to her son getting a scholarship from a program Jackson championed.

“We have generations of support,” she said. “I’m hoping we continue.”