US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Photo: Media Punch
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington has cancelled more than 300 student visas as part of measures against pro-Palestinian protests on US university campuses. The authorities continue to review the status of students participating in the demonstrations and are ready to revoke even more permits to stay in the country.
“Maybe even more than 300 at the moment. We do this every day. Every time we find one of these crazies,” Rubio said during a visit to South America, the BBC reports.
The case of a Turkish student
His comments were made in response to a question about Rumeysa Ozturk, a student from Turkey who was detained by masked agents in Somerville, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. She has publicly expressed support for the Palestinians in the war in Gaza.
Rubio confirmed that her visa had been cancelled and explained that the US will cancel the permits of all students who participate in actions that the authorities consider illegal:
“If they vandalise universities, harass other students, occupy buildings or create unrest, we simply revoke their visas,” the Secretary of State said.
Criticism from lawyers
Ozturk’s lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabay, stated that her client was most likely punished not for any crimes, but for exercising her right to freedom of speech.
“In the patterns we are seeing across the country, her detention appears to have been triggered by expressing her views,” she told Reuters.
Trump administration puts pressure on universities
In addition to visa cancellations, the White House announced the withdrawal of federal funding from Columbia University in New York. The authorities argue that the university’s management is not responding decisively enough to anti-Semitism among students.
The Republican administration is actively criticising universities for their alleged inaction in the face of massive pro-Palestinian protests. Donald Trump made this one of the key themes of his election campaign, accusing universities of “pandering to extremists”.
