Civil Rights Groups Raise Alarm Over AI-Driven Deportation Plans
Civil rights organizations are expressing alarm regarding reports indicating that the Trump administration is considering the use of artificial intelligence to identify and deport university protesters. This move is seen as an escalation of the administration’s efforts targeting foreign nationals and potentially infringing upon protected speech.
According to Axios, the State Department is reportedly planning to employ artificial intelligence to “catch and revoke” the visas of foreign students perceived by officials as supporters of Hamas and other designated terrorist groups. During the 2023-2024 academic year, over 1 million international students were enrolled in the United States. Federal law enforcement agencies could potentially be tasked with scrutinizing their social media accounts for content deemed sympathetic to terrorist groups. The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security are expected to collaborate on this initiative.
Officials are also planning to review internal databases to determine if visa holders have been recently arrested but allowed to remain in the country. A source familiar with the matter told the outlet that zero visa revocations have occurred during Joe Biden’s administration.
Activists are arguing that this policy could undermine the First Amendment’s protections of freedom of speech.
“This should concern all Americans. This is a First Amendment and freedom of speech issue, and the administration will overplay its hand,” stated Abed Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. “Americans won’t like this. They’ll view this as capitulating free speech rights for a foreign nation.”
The organization released a statement, asserting that using artificial intelligence to track and flag individuals for visa revocation and/or deportation is akin to criminalizing peaceful political expression and dissent. The group also noted, “Not since the aftermath of 9/11 has such wide-scale surveillance been directed at non-citizen communities.”
The statement further added that using artificial intelligence could lead to errors, misidentifications, and abuses of discretion.
Sarah McLaughlin, senior scholar for global expression at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, stated, “AI tools can’t be trusted as experts on the First Amendment or the nuances of speech.” In addition, she wrote, “Using AI to scour visa holders’ social media for ‘pro-Hamas’ posts and report them to an administration threatening to deport international students for protected speech will undoubtedly encourage self-censorship.”
The Immigration Nationality Act of 1952 gives the Secretary of State the authority to revoke visas for foreigners seen as a threat.
Marco Rubio appears prepared to use this power. “We see people marching at our universities and in the streets of our country … calling for Intifada, celebrating what Hamas has done … Those people need to go,” he said a few days after October 7, when Hamas killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel’s 16-month retaliatory offensive led to the deaths of more than 48,000 Palestinians.
Donald Trump has suggested that the U.S. should occupy and rebuild the territory while displacing its residents, a plan that critics argue amounts to ethnic cleansing.
Last week, the Trump administration announced it would be withdrawing $400 million from Columbia University and canceling grants and contracts due to claims that the school failed to address antisemitism on campus.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is urging universities to encourage robust discussions and exploration of ideas among students, faculty, and staff, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, and to protect students’ privacy and abide by the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. “It is disturbing to see the White House threatening freedom of speech and academic freedom on U.S. college campuses so blatantly,” said Cecillia Wang, legal director of the ACLU. “We stand in solidarity with university leaders in their commitment to free speech, open debate, and peaceful dissent on campus.”
