The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said that a new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy to screen social media for “antisemitic activity” to block immigration benefits amounts to ‘McCarthyism.”
The new policy affects people applying for lawful permanent status, foreign student visas and others affiliated with educational institutions. While the announcement did not define “antisemitic activity,” it comes at a time when the Trump administration is targeting international students nationwide for taking part in peaceful protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
SEE: DHS says it will weigh antisemitic content in immigration applications – The Hill
SEE ALSO: Feds to screen for ‘antisemitic activity’ on social media to block immigrant benefits – USA Today
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“The spirit of Joseph McCarthy is alive and well in the Trump administration, which has spent months dishonestly mischaracterizing legitimate criticism of the Israeli government’s war crimes in Gaza as antisemitic, pursuing witch hunts into American colleges, and threatening the free speech rights of immigrants. The Trump administration must stop shredding the First Amendment for the benefit of Benjamin Netanyahu’s racist, genocidal government.”
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com