Rights advocates and free speech defenders raised alarm on Thursday following reports that the U.S. State Department is deploying artificial intelligence to revoke visas of foreign students it perceives as supporting Palestine. The move is widely seen as an effort to silence pro-Palestinian voices and suppress dissent against Israel’s occupation and military actions.
The U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protects freedom of speech and assembly, but critics say these protections are being ignored in a sweeping crackdown on advocacy for Palestinian rights. Free speech groups such as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and pro-Palestinian organizations condemned the use of AI in assessing political views, warning that it risks criminalizing legitimate criticism of Israel and its decades-long occupation of Palestinian land.
Axios reported that the AI-driven “Catch and Revoke” initiative will conduct mass surveillance on the social media accounts of tens of thousands of student visa holders. Rights groups warn that this could disproportionately target Muslim and Arab students, as well as activists speaking out against Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The report also revealed that officials were monitoring news coverage of protests against Israel’s policies, alongside lawsuits from pro-Israel groups accusing foreign nationals of antisemitism. Many pro-Palestinian activists, including Jewish groups, have explicitly denounced antisemitism while advocating for Palestinian liberation.
Fox News separately reported that the State Department had revoked the visa of a student accused of taking part in what it called “Hamas-supporting disruptions.” However, the government has not provided clear evidence that these protests support Hamas, raising concerns that legitimate advocacy for Palestinian human rights is being falsely equated with extremism.
“AI tools cannot be relied on to parse the nuances of expression about complex and contested matters like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” said Sarah McLaughlin, a scholar at FIRE, warning that this policy will have a chilling effect on free speech.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee described the crackdown as “an alarming erosion of constitutionally protected free speech and privacy rights,” arguing that it is part of a broader trend of criminalizing pro-Palestinian activism in the U.S.
The State Department, in coordination with the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, is overseeing the crackdown. While the department did not comment directly on these reports, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media that the U.S. “has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists,” a statement activists say is being weaponized to silence criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
President Donald Trump, who has previously expressed unwavering support for Israel, signed an executive order in January to combat what he called antisemitism on college campuses. However, critics argue that the order is being used to justify the persecution of students who protest Israel’s occupation and war on Gaza. Trump has also vowed to deport international students who participate in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
While the administration has focused on cracking down on pro-Palestinian voices, it has taken no similar action to address rising Islamophobia. Palestinian students, activists, and even Jewish groups who oppose Israeli policies have reported threats and harassment, but the government has not announced any measures to protect them.
Trump has also pledged to cut federal funding for universities that allow pro-Palestinian demonstrations, calling protesters “agitators” and vowing to imprison or deport them.
Washington has long designated Hamas as a “foreign terrorist organization,” but critics argue that this label is being used as a pretext to silence broader calls for Palestinian rights.
With the U.S. government now actively targeting pro-Palestinian voices through AI surveillance, rights groups fear that the suppression of free speech will only escalate. Advocates are calling for an immediate end to the policy, warning that it sets a dangerous precedent for silencing dissent and criminalizing support for Palestinian freedom.