U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that, effective immediately, it will consider involvement in anti-American or terrorist organizations and evidence of antisemitic activity when adjudicating certain benefit requests. The guidance states applicants bear the burden of proof to show a favorable exercise of discretion is warranted. The agency also said it will vet some people requesting benefits for "un-American activities." After Israel's October 2023 campaign in Gaza, administrations have accused pro-Palestine activists of antisemitism and some foreign-born activists were arrested and imprisoned. The guidance could formalize and expand a crackdown, potentially barring critics of Israel from entering the United States.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Tuesday that, effective immediately, when reviewing applications, the agency will consider "any involvement in anti-American or terrorist organizations, as well as the use of discretion in adjudication of certain benefit requests where evidence of antisemitic activity is present." The applicant "bears the burden of proof to demonstrate that a favorable exercise of discretion is warranted," the announcement states.
For months after Israel began its genocide in Gaza in October 2023, the Biden administration repeatedly lobbed baseless accusations of antisemitism and support for terrorism at pro-Palestine, anti-genocide activists. Soon after taking office, the Trump administration escalated attacks on these activists by abducting and imprisoning many of them, particularly those who were foreign-born. The new guidance appears to formalize and significantly expand the crackdown on the movement, potentially barring those who criticize Israel from even entering the United States by equating such criticism with antisemitism.
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