Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced a bill that would revoke visas for those convicted of a criminal offense during a protest.
Under the “No Visas for Violent Criminals Act,” individuals convicted of a criminal offense during a protest must leave the country within 60 days.
The bill comes as anti-Israel protests have taken place across U.S. campuses following the October 7 attack on Israel. Protesters also demonstrated at Union Station ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address before Congress.
“The Biden administration’s inaction against pro-Hamas mobs has only emboldened these extremists. Our legislation makes clear that a green card does not give individuals the right to break our laws in support of anti-Semitic views,” Cotton said in a statement.
According to the bill, those involved in the “defacement, vandalism, or destruction of a Federal memorial or monument,” obstructing a “highway, road, bridge, or tunnel,” or violently protested at an “institution of higher education or at a facility in the United States operated by a religious institution” are deportable.
The bill was co-sponsored by Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). A companion bill by Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) is underway in the House.
Cotton wrote on social media that the “actions of the pro-Hamas lunatics at Union Station in DC are shameful, and anyone on a visa who took part should have it revoked immediately.”
The Arkansas senator has led several calls to deport foreign students supporting Hamas.
In an October letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Cotton wrote, “I write to urge you to immediately deport any foreign national—including and especially any alien on a student visa—that has expressed support for Hamas and its murderous attacks on Israel. These fifth-columnists have no place in the United States.”
Cotton also joined more than two dozen Senate Republicans in urging the Biden administration to prosecute pro-Palestinian protesters at college campuses across the country.
The April letter called upon the Biden admin to “revoke the visas of all foreign nationals (such as exchange students) who have taken part in promoting terrorism, and hold accountable school administrators who have stood by instead of protecting their students.”
