New Ken Klippenstein piece:
The Trump administration is requiring that foreign students studying in, or seeking to study in the United States, pass an ideological test in order to obtain a visa, according to a “sensitive” State Department directive issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and which I obtained.
The crackdown, instituted on Tuesday, makes it “mandatory” for consular officers and State Department personnel to conduct a “social media review” — including screenshotting posts — of new and returning student visa applicants for any evidence of terrorist connections. Such connections are defined broadly to include “advocating for, sympathizing with, or persuading others to endorse or espouse terrorist activities or support” a terrorist organization. Though the document doesn’t explicitly define what counts as advocacy, it mentions “conduct that bears a hostile attitude toward U.S. citizens or U.S. culture (including government, institutions, or founding principles).”
Specific reference is made to students seeking to participate “in pro-Hamas events,” which is how the Trump administration has characterized student protests against the war in Gaza.
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The order to “comprehensively review and screen every visa applicant” appears directed at Palestinian and other foreign students who are “sympathetic” to Hamas, but typical of every government directive, it also opens the door for broader ideological vetting. It also directs the social media of visa applicants to be assessed for “potential security and non-security related ineligibilities [that] pose a threat to U.S. national security.”
The directive, dated March 25, bears the subject line “Enhanced Screening and Social Media Vetting for Visa Applicants.” It begins with a reference to two of Trump’s executive orders, including one on “measures to combat anti-semitism” and another on combating foreign terrorists and other national security threats to public safety. The directive applies to F, M, and J student visa, which encompass:
F visa (Academic Student): Full-time students at an accredited college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, elementary school, or other academic institution or in a language training program. M visa (Vocational Student): Students in vocational or other nonacademic programs, other than language training.J visa (Exchange Visitors): Foreign nationals in the United States for educational, cultural, or work-related exchange programs, such as teaching, studying, conducting research, or receiving training. …
The order requires visa decision-makers to take screenshots of “potentially derogatory information” to both document their decisions and to prevent visa applicants and holders from deleting or altering their previous posts.
What social media is reviewed and how that is done is governed by the State Department Foreign Affairs Handbook section 7 FAH-1 H-954.4, according to the directive, dealing with “Social Media Review.” That section of the handbook, though otherwise online, has not been released to the public.
I’ve included a copy of the leaked directive in its entirety below so you can see for yourself what you think. If you appreciate journalism that respects its readers intelligence enough to let them come to their own conclusions, do us a solid by becoming a paid subscriber.
read more:
https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/exclusive-trump-admin-spies-on-social