When the White House press secretary plainly told the country that the Trump administration will deny visas to noncitizens who openly side with terrorist organizations, hardworking Americans finally heard a dose of common-sense patriotism from their government. Karoline Leavitt made clear that the privilege of entering and remaining in our country does not extend to those who distribute propaganda or cheer for groups that butcher innocents and shout “death to America.”
This is not abstract rhetoric — the administration has pointed to real cases where foreign nationals on U.S. soil allegedly handed out materials bearing Hamas insignia and organized protests that crossed the line into endorsing violence. The detention and visa-revocation actions surrounding Mahmoud Khalil were presented by officials as evidence that siding with terrorists will have consequences, and the government says it will use existing immigration authorities to act.
Americans should also remember why this matters: federal law enforcement continues to uncover real links between individuals in the U.S. and terrorist activity abroad, including cases where visa fraud and direct assistance to Hamas have been alleged. We are not debating hypotheticals when the FBI is charging people accused of helping murderous organizations — we are confronting a threat that demands decisive policy.
Predictably, the left and its allied interest groups have cried foul and rushed to court, accusing the administration of policing speech and surveilling social media. Labor unions and civil liberties outfits have filed lawsuits challenging the monitoring and visa-revocation practices, but the public must not lose sight of a central fact: admission to this country is a privilege, and the government has a duty to protect American lives and foreign-policy interests.
Conservatives understand the balance here: we value free expression for citizens, but we also insist on a sovereign state that defends itself and refuses to be a safe haven for those who celebrate our enemies. The State Department and the Secretary of State have long-held statutory authority to revoke visas that threaten national security or U.S. foreign-policy objectives, and enforcing that authority against pro-terror actors is simply sensible governance.
If Washington wants to keep America safe and maintain the moral clarity needed in a dangerous world, then it should double down on vetting and consequences for foreign nationals who align with violent extremists. Patriotic Americans deserve a government that chooses the security of citizens over the fashionable outrage of coastal elites, and this administration’s stance is the kind of firm, unapologetic leadership our country needs right now.
