A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The Trump administration says it's going to take a tough stance on antisemitism. Now, one way they're going to try and do that is by signing an executive order - that's what the president did last week - that aims to deport international students who've participated in university protests over the war in Gaza. The order has a lot of people worried that the threat of deportation is being used to censor free speech and criticism of Israel. NPR's Adrian Florido has been following this. So tell us about this executive order.
ADRIAN FLORIDO, BYLINE: Well, the White House says that its purpose is to fight anti-Jewish hate that surged since the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. The order says that the government will use all of its tools to punish people who've engaged in, quote, "antisemitic harassment and violence." It orders federal agencies to explore ways to do that. And just yesterday, in fact, the new attorney general, Pam Bondi, created a task force to prosecute antisemitic acts, including on college campuses. The president's order, A, singles out last year's university protests against Israel's war in Gaza, which it says unleashed a barrage of discrimination against Jewish students. The order targets international students who participated in those protests with deportation.
MARTÍNEZ: Targets them. So on what grounds?
FLORIDO: Well, here's what President Trump said in a statement about his order, "to all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests," he said, "we will find you, and we will deport you. I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses," end quote. The president is calling the protests themselves pro-jihadist and, therefore, seems to be labeling anyone who participated in the protests as pro-terrorist or pro-Hamas.
Now, the executive order cites the federal law that authorizes deporting a foreign national who, quote, "endorses or espouses terrorist activity." And the order also directs the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to educate universities on that law so they can monitor their foreign students and report them to the government for possible deportation.
MARTÍNEZ: Let me just understand something here. So the White House wants universities to monitor students and report on their own international students.
FLORIDO: That's what the order says. Exactly how that would work and whether universities would comply isn't clear. I reached out to some schools where students protested last year, and those schools said only that they are reviewing the order.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So how are students and advocates reacting to all this?
FLORIDO: Well, they're alarmed. Protest organizers reject accusations that their stance against Israel's war in Gaza is antisemitic or pro-Hamas. While some people at these protests did express antisemitic views, the vast majority did not. Abed Ayoub is executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and he says the president's order is weaponizing the threat of deportation to silence pro-Palestinian activism. And he worries it could lead to a crackdown on anyone who protests Israel.
ABED AYOUB: How long before we see criminal charges against U.S. citizens? How long before we see criminal detainment against these individuals? That's the next step. That's why this should be troubling.
FLORIDO: He thinks the order is unconstitutional, and he's in conversations about a legal challenge.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. What are Jewish and pro-Israel groups saying?
FLORIDO: Well, the response is mixed. Conservative groups like the Zionist Organization of America praised the order, saying that if evidence shows protesters have endorsed terrorism, they should be deported. The Anti-Defamation League applauded the order's commitment to fight antisemitism, but it said that people the government wants to deport should be afforded due process. And the head of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a progressive group, told me that fighting antisemitism is critical. But she worries that this order could be used to deport wide swaths of students for their beliefs.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Adrian Florido. Thanks a lot.
FLORIDO: Thank you, A.
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