US President Donald Trump signed executive orders in January targeting foreigners who espoused hateful ideology and antisemitism, specifically international students involved in university pro-Palestinian protests.

For activist groups ranging from Mothers Against College Antisemitism and the Chicago Jewish Alliance to the US wings of Zionist organisation Betar and the Shirion Collective surveillance network, the orders provided what they said was a long-awaited tool to help quash antisemitism on college campuses.

“If students are here on visas and they are harassing our kids, they should definitely be deported,” MACA founder Elizabeth Rand said on Facebook on February 7, after posting a link to a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement tip line on January 21.

Betar, labelled an extremist group by the Anti-Defamation League Jewish advocacy group, went further, saying it provided names of international students and faculty to the Trump administration for deportation. Betar did not provide evidence of such a list, but spokesperson Daniel Levy said of the promised deportations, “We are pleased this process has now begun.”

The US Departments of Justice, State and Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.

The orders have not yet had the impact of Trump’s first-term travel ban when nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries were barred from the US, sparking chaos at airports before a federal court ruled it unconstitutional.

But civil rights lawyers said the orders may violate constitutional rights to free speech, while Arab American groups have said they are prepared to challenge the policy in court.

The executive orders and response to them showed a willingness among some Jewish activists to work with the Trump administration on a common cause. A few MACA members, however, said they were leaving the group as reporting on foreigners smacked of informing on Jews during World War Two, according to Facebook posts.

Major Jewish American advocacy groups such as the ADL and American Jewish Committee welcomed Trump’s orders, but stopped short of asking people to report foreign students to the government.

The October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza led to months of pro-Palestinian protests that roiled US college campuses.

Civil rights groups documented a surge in hate crimes and incidents directed at Jews, Muslims, Arabs and other people of Middle Eastern descent. Online, Jewish American and pro-Israel groups doxxed American and foreign students and faculty they accused of supporting Hamas, publishing their photos and personal information. Several pro-Palestinian groups used similar tactics to call out Israel’s defenders.

CAMPUS SPEECH

Since Trump took office, the US Justice Department announced plans to form a task force to fight antisemitism in schools and universities, while the Education Department said it was investigating five universities for alleged antisemitic harassment.

The executive orders, meanwhile, singled out students and staff for potential deportation. The January 20 order called for enhanced vetting of foreign students from regions or nations with “security risks” to ensure those who “espouse hateful ideology” are not allowed in the country, or have visas cancelled.

The January 29 order called for an inventory of alleged civil rights violations associated with pro-Palestinian campus protests, potentially leading to actions to remove “alien students and staff.”

Some civil rights groups have said the orders would likely face court challenges if acted upon.

“The president should not be in the business of policing speech on college campuses,” said Ben Wizner, a specialist in speech and privacy at the American Civil Liberties Union.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said a number of Palestinian students have had visas revoked since Trump entered office. The civil rights group provided Reuters screenshots of its email message to the State Department regarding a student from Gaza whose visa was cancelled this month, and an image of the revoked document.

The Gazan student was not involved in campus protests and appeared to be targeted for her national origin, said ADC director Abed Ayoub.

The ADC was among groups that warned Trump’s January 20 order laid the groundwork for a reinstatement of his Muslim ban. A spokesperson said the group planned to sue the administration once the order was fully implemented.

“It is happening, our students and our international students are being targeted,” Ayoub said.

Many pro-Palestinian protesters denied supporting Hamas or engaging in antisemitic acts, saying they were demonstrating against Israel’s assault on Gaza, where health authorities say more than 47,000 people have been killed.

The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting some 250 others.

For the government to convict someone of materially assisting a foreign terrorist organisation, it has to show actions such as wiring money, rather than just verbal support, said Alex Morey, vice president of campus advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

Protest leaders at New York’s Columbia University said pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrations have been overwhelmingly organised and carried out by Americans. Foreign students studying there on visas are often not comfortable doing anything that would risk their enrolment or arrest, they said.