Columbia University protests: Rep. Elise Stefanik calls on Biden admin to deport terrorist supporters on visas
Fox News
House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., sent a scathing letter to top Biden officials about the ongoing anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, demanding federal intervention to protect Jewish students.
In a letter dated Tuesday, Stefanik wrote to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland. The New York congresswoman did not mince words when describing the disarray caused by the anti-Israel protests at the New York City Ivy League institution, threatening Jewish students and faculty.
Classes at Columbia will be entirely virtual for the rest of the semester due to the protesters “taking over” the campus. New York City Mayor Eric Adams blamed “outside agitators” for fanning the flames during a press conference Tuesday.
Stefanik called attention to the antisemitic sentiment among protesters in her letter.
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“Over the past few days, anarchy has engulfed the campus of Columbia University and created an environment that is unsafe for Jewish students and faculty,” she wrote. “You have the ability and authority to put a stop to this and take concrete steps to hold accountable those responsible.”
The House Republican described the protesters as an “unsanctioned mob of students and agitators permitted to continue to target Jewish students” and cited antisemitic incidents that have occurred as a result of their activity.
“Consequences are needed for those who are calling for terrorism and violent attacks,” she wrote. Stefanik cited the Immigration and Nationality Act, which states that anyone who endorses terrorism can become ineligible for American residency, and noted that protesters are “brazenly endorsing Hamas and other terrorist organizations.”
“By allowing this support for terror to continue, this wicked ideology is able to spread,” Stefanik argued. “I demand that you enforce existing law to revoke the visas and deport students here on visas who are suspended for their antisemitic actions.”
The Republican also called for the Department of Education to hold Columbia accountable by revoking any federal funding that the Ivy League school receives.
“It is past time for the Department of Education to publish the findings of [President’s Biden’s Title VI] investigation and hold the university accountable,” she wrote. “Furthermore, the Department must take action to revoke any federal funding flowing to Columbia and similar institutions so taxpayers are not funding the ongoing discrimination.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Secretary Mayorkas and Attorney General Garland for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.