Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has called on President Joe Biden to cancel and rescind visas for foreign nationals "who endorse or espouse terrorist activity, including those who defend or support Hamas by calling for intifada, jihad, or other similar actions to eliminate the Jewish state of Israel."
Rubio issued his demand via a press release on Saturday, one week after Hamas terrorists attacked towns in southern Israel, killing civilians and taking hostages.
"America is the most generous nation on earth, but we cannot allow foreign nationals who support terrorist groups like Hamas and march in our streets calling for 'intifada' to enter or stay in our country," Rubio said.
In the release, Rubio cited individuals who helped organize demonstrations on Friday's international "day of Jihad," which had been called for by a former Hamas leader.
Pro-Hamas protests have erupted in cities and on college campuses across the U.S.
The senator said some people responsible for organizing and participating in the demonstrations are in the U.S. on visas.
"The Biden Administration has the authority and an obligation under existing law to immediately identify, cancel the visas of, and remove foreign nationals already here in America who have demonstrated support terrorist groups, and in many cases, even celebrated the slaughter of Israeli babies and the rape of Jewish girls," Rubio said in the release.
The senator added that he will introduce legislation to force the Biden administration to act. He will pursue removing federal funding from colleges and universities that allow protests, demonstrations, and other activity that can be reasonably construed to "endorse or espouse terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization," as designated by the U.S. Code.
Rubio's press release also pointed out that 8 USC1182 of the code details various classes of "aliens ineligible for visas or admission."
People prohibited include "alien[s] whose entry or proposed activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."
Rubio also has rejected liberals' calls to allow Gaza refugees into the U.S.
"The U.S. is the most generous nation in the world, but we are in no position to accept additional refugees, especially from a region with as high a risk of terrorism, given our nation’s inability to secure our own border or vet those who are already here," Rubio told the New York Post.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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