Deporting Anti-American Foreigners Isn’t About Speech Rights

The Trump administration is cracking down on radical, anti-American foreigners by revoking their visas. The left claims such efforts are a violation of free speech rights. But no foreigner has the “right” to be in America, let alone come here and espouse radical anti-American and anti-West values.

Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk was detained by immigration officers near Tufts Campus on Tuesday and later had her student visa revoked. Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said federal investigations found Ozturk “engaged in activities in support of Hamas.” Hamas is a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that visas are meant for students to “study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses. And if we’ve given you a visa and then you decide to do that, we’re going to take it away.”

Similarly, Syrian-born Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil was detained after the DHS said he “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.” As reported by the New York Post earlier this month, “Khalil and Columbia United Apartheid Divest … were among those taking part in the campus takeover [of Columbia University] at the start of the school year.” The coalition, led by Khalil, sought the “total eradication of Western civilization,” according to the outlet.

The Trump administration also detained Badar Khan Suri, whose wife is reportedly the daughter of a senior adviser to Hamas leadership. Suri’s wife has posted Hamas propaganda, including a post declaring “America is the plague,” according to the National Review.

Of course, the left is out in full force, weaponizing the First Amendment to defend these anti-American foreigners. Their argument? It’s a violation of rights to deny a foreigner the privilege of staying in America while they openly promote terrorism and anti-American values.

“This is bone chilling. We are watching a Censorship Regime forming,” Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy said in a post on X. “Everyone in America – citizens and green card holders – has the protection of free speech.”

David French said Americans are living under a new “Red Scare.”

“I think it’s fair to say that we can absolutely and totally dispense with the idea that Trump’s Republican Party defends free speech. We’re witnessing one of the most comprehensive attacks on political speech since the Red Scare,” French said in a post on X.

New York Rep. Dan Goldman, referring specifically to the instance with Ozturk, said it’s “flat out un-American.”

What French, Murphy, and Goldman, fail to understand is that this has nothing to do with the right to free speech. This is about whether openly anti-American and anti-West foreigners have a right to be here. The answer is an emphatic ‘no.’ No one has a right to come to the United States to undermine its very existence.

James Madison said as much in 1790 when discussing naturalization.

“[I]t is no doubt very desirable, that we should hold out as many inducements as possible, for the worthy part of mankind to come and settle among us, and throw their fortunes into a common lot with ours,” Madison said. “But, why is this desirable? Not merely to swell the catalogue of people. No, sir, ’tis to [i]ncrease the wealth and strength of the community, and those who acquire the rights of citizenship, without adding to the strength or wealth of the community, are not the people we are in want of.”

While Madison’s point was specifically in regard to citizenship, his argument nonetheless holds the same when talking about green cards or visas. America should only permit entry to those who increase the “strength or wealth of the community.”

Syrians and Palestinians calling for the “total eradication of Western civilization” or referring to America as “the plague” do not strengthen our communities. In fact, they do the complete opposite.

Americans must be selective about who we allow in the country. Not every culture is compatible with American culture. If we fail to be selective in our immigration policies, we risk allowing foreign ideologies to erode our foundation. As Alexander Hamilton warned, America’s survival depends on “the preservation of a national spirit and a national character.”

“To admit foreigners indiscriminately to the rights of citizens the moment they put foot in our country … would be nothing less, than to admit the Grecian Horse into the Citadel of our Liberty and Sovereignty.”

Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2