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Philly-area colleges brace for impact as Trump threatens to deport international students who are pro-Hamas or participated in protests

The president promised to “marshal all federal resources” to fight “the explosion of antisemitism on our campuses and streets” since Oct. 7, 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel.

A pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Pennsylvania in April 2024.
A pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Pennsylvania in April 2024.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer

One of President Donald Trump’s latest executive orders targets international college students who protested in support of Palestinians.

“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” Trump said this week in a White House fact sheet on the order. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”

The order, which is likely to draw legal challenges for potentially violating free speech rights, also targets staffers on work visas who participated. The order calls on institutions to “monitor for and report activities by alien students and staff” involving antisemitism and be sure those reports “lead … to investigations and, if warranted, actions to remove such aliens.”

While some Jewish students have felt unfairly targeted by protests on campus, pro-Palestinian protesters have argued that critics wrongly conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism and support for Palestinians with support for Hamas.

CAIR, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy association, said the “broad language of the order appears to threaten deportation based on unprovable ideological tests and for mere participation in any anti-genocide protests, which the order’s fact sheet broadly mischaracterizes as ‘pro-jihadist,’ ‘violent’ and ‘antisemitic.’”

On Philadelphia-area campuses where protests have broken out over the last 15 months, some are concerned that students who have been vocal about the Israel-Hamas war could be affected.

“It’s concerning for us right here on campus, in particular for some of our international students and their visas,” said Edwin Mayorga, an associate professor of educational studies at Swarthmore College.

Mayorga said he is not surprised at the “shock doctrine” approach, but is dismayed.

“It feels like a witch hunt, a very targeted hunt for a certain set of political ideas and perspectives and putting pressure on institutions to police that, which to me seems deeply racist and prejudicial,” he said.

» READ MORE: Should Swarthmore students’ use of a bullhorn constitute assault? Tensions remain as discipline from pro-Palestinian protests continue.

The president promised to “marshal all federal resources” to fight “the explosion of antisemitism on our campuses and streets” since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel.

Several campuses in the Philadelphia region have been home to pro-Palestinian protests, including encampments that in some cases drew police action.

Swarthmore has been holding disciplinary hearings for 25 students for alleged violation of school policies pertaining to pro-Palestinian protests.

“Some of the students still in hearings are international students,” Mayorga said.

Despite his concerns, Mayorga pointed out that Swarthmore is a sanctuary campus, a status it adopted in 2016 ahead of Trump’s first presidency. That means the college does not “voluntarily share student information with immigration enforcement officials … will not voluntarily grant access to College property to immigration enforcement officials” and “will not support the enforcement actions of immigration officials on campus,” Swarthmore officials wrote at that time.

A Swarthmore junior who participated in the pro-Palestinian protests called the order “very unsettling” and an attempt to chill student activism and mischaracterize students’ efforts.

“It’s entirely undemocratic,” the student, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, said, “and certainly goes against what America’s values are supposed to be.”

Harun Küçük, a University of Pennsylvania associate professor and former director of the school’s Middle East Center, was skeptical that the order would have much impact, noting that Trump is targeting “pro-Hamas” protesters. Hamas, the nationalist governing body of Gaza, promotes the use of violence.

“I personally don’t know any pro-Hamas protesters,” he said. “Even Palestinians don’t like Hamas. I just don’t think that’s a thing.”

But there have been reports of chants on campuses in support of Hamas, and the Swarthmore chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine on Oct. 7, the anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, posted on social media: “Happy Oct. 7 everyone,” calling it a “glorious day.” The college condemned the statement; SJP said it took down the message that day, noting it was posted without consent of all core organizing members.

Küçük questioned how authorities would get the information needed to deport the students.

Neither Penn nor Swarthmore responded to requests for comment. But interim Penn president J. Larry Jameson vowed in a message to campus earlier this week to “uphold Penn’s values.”

“Our success as a world-class academic institution is inextricably linked to our commitment to nondiscrimination and prizing excellence,” he wrote.

Penn’s campus was roiled in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack. Former president Liz Magill resigned in December 2023 over criticism of her testimony at a congressional hearing about handling antisemitism concerns.