Tipsheet

A Bill Is Finally Here to Revoke Visa for Pro-Hamas Protesters

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  May 09, 2024 3:00 PM

While President Joe Biden and college administrations may be slow to act on the pro-Hamas protests going on at college campuses across the country, Republicans in Congress aren't looking to wait around. As The Daily Caller reported on Wednesday, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) introduced the Study Abroad Act, and was joined by Reps. Randy Weber (R-TX) and Jeff Duncan (R-SC) as co-sponsors. 

The legislation notes that the "Secretary of State shall revoke the F, J, or M visa of any alien who has been arrested for rioting or unlawful protest or who has been arrested while establishing, participating in, or promoting an encampment on the campus of an institution of higher education on or since October 7, 2023." In other words, terrorist sympathizers will be kicked out. As Ogles told the Daily Caller, they can "go study abroad in Gaza."

"These antisemitic, anti-America riots have wreaked havoc and chaos on campuses, leading to the cancellation of commencements and in-person classes. It is unacceptable that we would allow non-Americans to terrorize our institutions of higher learning. It’s time to send a clear message to foreign, Hamas-sympathizing students rioting: if you bring chaos to our universities, you can study abroad somewhere else. Might I recommend Iran, Qatar, or Gaza? They seem more your speed," Ogles also offered.

Speaking of Iran, the terrorist-backing country has offered scholarships to pro-Hamas students who have been expelled, as well as sympathizing professors. 

A report from Fox News also quoted Ogles as sharing that his bill would "send any person convicted of unlawful activity on the campus of an American university since Oct. 7, 2023, to Gaza to complete a minimum of six months of community service."

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While the bill might earn some bipartisan support, it's certainly going to face opposition from the anti-Israel members of the Squad in the House. Also on Wednesday, Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) held a press conference to share their support for the pro-Hamas student protestors. Other Squad members, such as Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both Democrats from New York similarly threw a fit when the NYPD was finally called in to deal with the encampments at Columbia University last week. 

The introduction of the bill also comes as pro-Hamas, anti-Israel agitators with CODEPINK were at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to disrupt a hearing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and another one to do with "Calling for Accountability: Stopping Antisemitic College Chaos." They also harassed pro-Israel members of Congress while defending the pro-Hamas protesters on campus.