The United States State Department is planning to use artificial intelligence (AI) to revoke the visas of foreign students perceived as supporters of Hamas, according to a Thursday report by Axios, citing senior State Department officials.
This ‘Catch and Revoke’ initiative will involve AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders’ social media accounts, the report stated.
The report indicated that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio initiated the effort. Rubio subsequently posted a statement on X/Twitter, condemning those who support terrorist organizations that threaten national security. “Those who support designated terrorist organizations, including Hamas, threaten our national security. The United States has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists. Violators of US law — including international students — face visa denial or revocation, and deportation,” Rubio wrote.
The report by Axios also noted that reviews of social media accounts would “particularly look for evidence of terrorist sympathies expressed,” following the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, according to officials.
Furthermore, officials will purportedly “examine internal databases” to check if “any visa holders were arrested but allowed to stay in the country during the Biden administration.” Axios added that officials were reviewing news reports of “anti-Israel demonstrations and Jewish students’ lawsuits that highlight foreign nationals allegedly engaged in antisemitic activity without consequence.”
