Immigrants seeking a path to United States citizenship could now reportedly have their green card applications rejected for expressing anti-Israel sentiment on social media or participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, along with other behavior deemed anti-American.
A New York Times report published Saturday, citing internal US Department of Homeland Security documents, says new training materials tell immigration officers to vet applicants for “endorsing, promoting or supporting anti-American views” or “antisemitic terrorism, ideologies or groups.” Desecrating the American flag is another example of such activity, according to the report.
Officers are instructed to view such activity as “overwhelmingly negative,” and to refer cases involving “potential anti-American and/or antisemitic conduct or ideology” to their superiors.
One example cited as potential grounds to reject an application was a mock-up of a social media post demanding to “Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine,” the Times reported. Another showed a map of Israel with the country’s name crossed out and replaced with “Palestine,” while another said Israelis should “taste what people in Gaza are tasting.”
DHS also told immigration officers to pay particular attention to anyone who took part in the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel campus protests in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent war in Gaza, the report said. The agents were told to examine whether applicants promoted antisemitism “through rhetorical or physical actions.”
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“If you hate America, you have no business demanding to live in America,” Zach Kahler, a spokesman for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which handles green card applications, told the Times. Green card holders are allowed to legally reside in the US and have a path to citizenship.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, told the Times that the Trump administration’s restrictions had “nothing to do with free speech.” She said they aimed to protect “American institutions, the safety of citizens, national security and the freedoms of the United States.”
Students and faculty rally at the University of California, Berkeley campus to protest the Trump administration’s crackdown on universities over antisemitism, on March 19, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
The reported policy is part of a raft of recent White House actions to combat antisemitism and criticism of Israel, including via immigration policy. Since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, his administration has sought to revoke anti-Israel campus protesters’ student visas and has reportedly weighed reviewing tourists’ social media histories.
A directive last year from USCIS tells agents to examine whether aspiring immigrants “support or promote anti-American ideologies or activities, antisemitic terrorism and antisemitic terrorist organizations, or… promote antisemitic ideologies.”
The Times report noted that although ideology has always played a part when vetting green card applicants, it had previously only impacted people belonging to communist or other totalitarian parties, or who had supported violent or unconstitutional calls to overthrow the US government.
The reported new policy comes amid the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown, which has targeted undocumented immigrants for deportation along with reducing legal immigration. According to the Times, green card approvals have fallen by half in recent months.
The administration has also said it is combating antisemitism by suing or withholding funding from universities over their response to campus anti-Israel activism. US Jewish groups are divided over those actions, with some praising the administration for protecting Jewish students and others criticizing an infringement on free speech and civil liberties that they worry will make Jews on campus less safe.
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