After the terrorist organization’s deadly attack on Israel earlier this month, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) asked that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deport foreign nationals who have shown support for Hamas.
Cotton wrote a letter to Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of DHS, on Monday urging him to follow federal law, which mandates that foreign nationals be deported if they assist or condone terrorist action.
“I write to urge you to immediately deport any foreign national—including and especially any alien on a student visa — that has expressed support for Hamas and its murderous attacks on Israel. These fifth-columnists have no place in the United States,” Cotton wrote in the letter.
“Federal law is clear that any alien who ‘endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization’ is inadmissible and must be deported,” he added.
Following the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 people, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in the United States to express their support for Palestinians and their disapproval of Israel.
After the attack, many of the student organizations and academics at American universities also expressed solidarity for Palestinians and downplayed Hamas’ brutality in the wake of the brutal attacks, alarming many lawmakers.
The Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee was one of those student organizations, and it persuaded about 30 other Ivy League student organizations to sign on to a unified statement that blamed Israel for the bloodshed and crimes done by Hamas in its attack against the Jewish state.
[READ MORE: Footage Surfaces of Nikki Haley Warning UN of Threat Posed by Hamas]
