By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Monday that past statements espousing what it labeled extremist views from immigrants applying for green cards and naturalization would “warrant closer scrutiny,” causing free speech advocates to raise concerns that it could stifle First Amendment rights.
The DHS statement came in response to a weekend report by the New York Times, which cited documents saying that under new guidance by President Donald Trump’s administration, immigrants can now be denied a green card for expressing political opinions, like participating in pro-Palestinian protests, criticizing Israel and desecrating the American flag.
“Certain behaviors and statements may raise serious concerns for USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) personnel reviewing an applicant’s file, including espousing terrorist ideologies, expressing hatred for American values, advocating for the violent overthrow of the United States government, or providing material support to terrorist organizations,” USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said.
“Such actions warrant closer scrutiny,” he added. USCIS is a part of DHS.
The Trump administration includes criticism of Israel as a potentially disqualifying factor, with DHS training materials, citing as an example of questionable speech a social media post that declares, “Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine” and shows the Israeli flag crossed out, the newspaper reported.
Immigration officers were told to weigh those factors as “overwhelmingly negative,” it added.
Critics and rights groups have raised free speech and due process concerns.
“Trump plans to deny legal residency in the U.S. based on whether he agrees with your speech. Since when did it become ‘anti-American’ to criticize the actions of a foreign government?” Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen wrote on the social media platform X.
“This is an incredibly disturbing attack on free speech, with the government deciding who can enter the country based purely on their expression of political views,” civil liberties group Defending Rights and Dissent said.
Trump has cracked down on pro-Palestinian movements by attempting to deport foreign protesters, threatening to freeze funds for universities where protests were held and scrutinizing immigrants’ online speech.
Last year, the Trump administration said it would vet immigration applications for “anti-Americanism” and antisemitism.
Trump alleges pro-Palestinian movements are antisemitic and support extremists.
Activists, including some Jewish groups, say the government conflates criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.
In one attempted deportation case, the sole basis authorities provided to act against Tufts University graduate Rumeysa Ozturk was an editorial she co-authored in a student newspaper criticizing Tufts’ response to Israel’s war on Gaza.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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