No Safe Space for Them! Trump Legally Shuts Down the Protest Chaos!

Six weeks into President Trump’s second term, the administration is already cracking down on campus disruptions. Days after Trump vowed to curb “illegal protests” at universities, the State Department revoked the visa of a foreign student involved in campus chaos. Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a legal permanent resident tied to pro-Hamas demonstrations.

This is a necessary step to restore order in higher education. Despite critics’ objections, this move does not violate the First Amendment.

Following ICE’s detention of Mahmoud Khalil, backlash erupted among Democrats.

Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats took to X, demanding, “Free Mahmoud Khalil.” DNC vice-chair David Hogg called it “one more step in Trump’s authoritarian march, detaining Palestinian . . . Mahmoud Khalil.”

However, Khalil is not Palestinian but Syrian. More importantly, the legal justification for his arrest is clear.

U.S. immigration law is straightforward: visa holders—whether for tourism, study, or employment—must remain eligible to stay. If deemed “inadmissible” under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), their visas can be revoked.

Even under the Biden administration, the State Department confirmed to then-Sen. Marco Rubio that visas for Hamas supporters could be revoked.

For temporary visa holders, there is no requirement for a hearing—an administrative order is enough to remove them. However, green card holders like Khalil are entitled to an immigration judge’s ruling before deportation, ensuring due process.

Pro-Hamas protests on college campuses undermine U.S. foreign policy, particularly America’s commitment to Israel, a key ally.

In Khalil’s case, the exact legal proceedings remain unclear, but the executive branch has the authority to vet noncitizens based on their beliefs—authority granted by Congress and upheld by the Supreme Court.

While INA provisions could be misused, no evidence suggests that’s happening here. Instead, the law is being applied selectively to serve national interests.

Trump has even broader authority: the INA allows the president to “suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens” deemed “detrimental to the interests of the United States.”

During his first term, Trump exercised this power through the controversial travel ban, a policy the Supreme Court upheld in Trump v. Hawaii. Chief Justice John Roberts ruled that as long as the president determines an entry is “detrimental to the national interest,” the restriction is legally sound.

Trump is using that same authority now. One of his first executive orders this year called for tighter screening of visa applicants and current noncitizens. It emphasized barring individuals “hostile” to American values, culture, and institutions or those supporting foreign terrorist groups.

As part of his executive order combating anti-Semitism, Trump instructed agencies to “prosecute, remove, or otherwise hold to account” individuals engaged in anti-Semitic violence and harassment.

This is not new. In 2020, the Trump administration revoked 1,000 Chinese nationals’ visas for security reasons—a policy the Biden administration defended in court.

The government cannot jail noncitizens for their speech, but it can and should deny entry or revoke visas for those who promote causes hostile to the U.S.

Keeping extremists out is common sense. The country has long barred Communists, Nazis, and other totalitarians from residency and naturalization. The same standard should apply to Islamists and radicals who undermine American values.

Removing those who harass, intimidate, and vandalize on campus is not only legal—it’s necessary. More, please.