The new immigration rule states that social media posts against Israel can be grounds for denial of a green card in the United States.
Not only are anti-Israel and pro-Palestine social media posts anti-American, they could also deny a green card, as new immigration guidelines issued by the Donald Trump administration expand disqualification factors, The New York Times reported. The guide contains examples of what could be considered anti-Israel and could be grounds for denial of a green card.
She added that social media posts that declare something like “Stop Israeli terrorism in Palestine” or display the crossed-out Israeli flag are enough to get a green card denied.Participating in pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses and desecrating the American flag can also jeopardize the chance of obtaining a green card.“The materials were distributed last month to immigration officials at USCIS, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security and handles applications for green cards and other forms of legal status,” the New York Times report said.The New York Times report noted how USCIS’s role has changed under the Trump 2.0 administration from a statutory immigration agency to a deportation mechanism.
List of “overwhelming negative factors”
- Advocate, promote, or support anti-American views
- Supporting terrorism, anti-Semitic ideologies or groups
- Supporting “subversive” ideologies. For example, the materials refer to a person “holding a sign calling for the overthrow of the United States government.”
- Desecration of the American flag
- Engaging in anti-American and anti-Semitic activities on campus after 2023
- Social media posts showing a map of Israel with the country’s name crossed out and replaced with the word “Palestine”
- Social media posts suggesting Israelis should taste what people in Gaza taste
If such adverse factors are discovered, immigration officials must refer all cases involving “anti-American and/or anti-Semitic behavior or ideology” to their managers and to the agency’s Office of General Counsel for review, according to the documents.
A green card grants legal permanent residency to an individual who qualifies under US immigration law – who has no serious criminal record, who entered the country legally, and so on. But USCIS said it is now checking old cases because it believes screening was lax during the Biden administration and they will re-examine those cases and revoke green cards for individuals they now deem ineligible.
