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The Department of Homeland Security has announced it will begin screening “antisemitic” social media activity as part of a new immigration policy for non-Americans seeking to live, study, or work in the United States.
What’s going on now: According to DHS, the policy takes effect immediately and will apply to non-citizens applying for green cards, student visas, or those connected to institutions flagged for antisemitic activity. In a notice posted to its website, the agency said it will now “consider aliens’ antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.”
The policy also directs immigration officers to treat online support for groups like Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and Ansar Allah (the Houthis) as a red flag. DHS clarified that social media content “indicating an alien endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity” will count against applicants during the screening process.
DHS employees are also being told to preserve screenshots of any relevant posts—even if the applicant later deletes or edits the content. According to DHS, this move aligns with prior executive orders under President Trump focused on fighting antisemitism and guarding against foreign threats.
In a statement, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said, “There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed this stance, stating that anyone who “advocates for anti-Semitic violence and terrorism” under the protection of free speech “should not be in this country.”
