Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
ICE has formally announced that effective immediately, it will begin creeping into the social media accounts of immigrants looking for evidence of antisemitic activity as grounds for denying immigration benefits requests. The screenings will affect people applying for permanent residency. The policy is set to go into effect immediately.
The statement regarding the policy was issued on Wednesday morning, and the Department of Homeland Security said it will “protect the homeland from extremists and terrorist aliens, including those who support antisemitic terrorism, violent antisemitic ideologies and antisemitic terrorist organizations, such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or [the Houthis].” This announcement comes after the arrests and detentions of pro-Palestinian student activists from schools like Tufts and Columbia. The government alleges that students like Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk engaged in antisemitic activities.
