Mahmoud Khalil was arrested without a warrant
Mahmoud Khalil, an activist at Columbia University, was arrested without a warrant, new documents show.
The Trump administration has a tough new message for foreigners in the US. One strike means you’re out.
Foreigners who are legally visiting or living in the country could lose their visa status if they violate the law under the new and unforgiving so-called “catch and review” policy announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“We currently have a one-strike policy: Catch and Revoke,” Rubio said in a social media post on May 2.
The policy, originally released April 30 in a newsletter produced by Rubio, suggests pursuing immigrants convicted of criminal acts, including domestic violence and assault.
However, the policy announcement did not identify a spectrum of crimes that could lead to visa revocations, and immigration experts questioned how it would be implemented, taking into account the Trump administration’s widespread crackdown.
David Beer, director of Immigration Research at the Libertarian Cato Institute, calls the new policy “absurd” and violates the US immigration law.
“Wealthy and skilled people with other options will not settle in a country where their lives could be ruined due to speeding tickets and running illegal lemonade stands,” he said in a post on X.
The State Department issues non-immigrant visas to the categories of tourists, students, nannies, investors, legal permanent residents spouses and children, and other visitors and residents.
Rubio said the State Department, under his guidance, “has made it clear that visas are privileges, not rights.”
More recently, the administration has actively targeted student visa holders who either protest Israeli war in Gaza or express pro-Palestinian views. Students with minor violations, including traffic violations, have also seen their visas have ended.
“They stripped their student visas from people for speeding tickets,” said Aaron Reichlin Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Council of Immigration, “Now they suggest that everyone do the same.”
The administration in late April reversed a decision to cancel visas for hundreds of foreign students across the country after students and their supporters submitted many court assignments.
