Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California suggested Friday that kicking Russian students out of U.S. colleges and universities should be looked at as a possible deterrent to Russia after the country's President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into Ukraine earlier this week.
Asked during a Thursday appearance on "CNN Newsroom" about potential sanctions the U.S. should use against Russia, Swalwell proposed penalizing Russian students attending college in the U.S.
"Frankly, I think closing [Russia's] embassy in the United States, kicking every Russian student out of the United States, those should all be on the table," Swalwell said. "Vladimir Putin needs to know every day that he is in Ukraine, there are more severe options that could come."
The left-wing Gravel Institute slammed Swalwell's remarks on Twitter, calling his suggestion an "absolutely atrocious idea," adding that ordinary people "should not be punished for the actions of their government."
The congressman also proposed sanctioning Putin personally and completely removing Russians from the international banking system SWIFT.
President Joe Biden has since placed sanctions on Putin. But sanctioning Putin is largely symbolic since the Russian president has hidden his wealth, thus, making it difficult to freeze his assets.
Swalwell said in his interview with CNN that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "the largest invasion in Europe since World War II."
"And these are the harshest sanctions that any country has experienced since World War II as far as financial travel, you know, energy resources. And there will be more to come," he said.