Representatives Jeff Duncan and Jim Banks Call for Deportation of Non-Citizen Terrorist Sympathizers
Washington, D.C. — As Hamas wages war on Israel and pro-Palestine, antisemitic rallies break out across America, Representatives Jeff Duncan and Jim Banks demand Homeland Security and the Department of State deport non-citizen terrorist sympathizers.
“America welcomes individuals around the world to follow the legal process to come to this country for tourism, work, or academic study,” said Congressman Jeff Duncan. “However, we specifically prohibit visas to anyone who supports terrorist regimes in Section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).”
“If you’re a visitor to our country and support Hamas’ gruesome murder of innocent babies and killing people while they sleep, then you do not get to remain in America and enjoy freedoms that are antithetical to the terrorist extremists you support. Americans refuse to allow antisemitic terrorist sympathizers to create home-grown terrorist cells on our soil. Americans should never support terrorists over innocent people fighting for freedom from oppression.”
“Hamas has killed Americans and is holding our fellow citizens hostage while visa holders celebrate in our streets. I refuse to sit idly by while terrorist supporters dance on the graves of Americans.”
Representative Jim Banks said, “we’ve already had a record number of illegal immigrants from terrorist-harboring nations. We need to shut down our border and then deport all non-citizen Hamas sympathizers. The Biden administration has the legal authority and an obligation to do both—anything less betrays America’s national security.”
Ryan Walker, Executive Vice President of Heritage Action, said, “videos of the demonstrations, social media posts from the organizers, and common sense all suggest that at least some of the individuals at campus demonstrations that embraced Hamas’s murderous spree of Israel civilians on Oct. 7, hold F-1 Visa (student) or J-1 Visa (exchange visitor) status. By doing so, they have violated the condition under the Immigration and Nationality Act that people ‘endorse or espouse terrorist activity’ be denied visas. We commend Reps. Banks and Duncan for asking the Departments of State and of Homeland Security to revoke the visas of those who are found to be violators."
Co-signers: Representatives August Pfluger (TX), Harriet Hageman (WY), Scott DesJarlais (TN), Michael Waltz (FL), Josh Brecheen (OK), Ralph Norman (SC), Randy Weber (TX), Bill Johnson (OH), Bill Posey (FL), Mike Carey (OH), George Santos (NY), Lauren Boebert (CO), Clay Higgins (LA), Gus Bilirakis (FL), Claudia Tenney (NY), Brian Babin (TX), and Trent Kelly (MS).
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Background: Duncan and Banks issued a letter to Secretaries Blinken and Mayorkas to seek enforcement of Section 212(a)(3)(B)(i)(VII) of the INA which states:
Any alien - who endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization… is inadmissible.
The Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine (Tufts SJP) posted “Since Friday, Palestinians have been launching a historic attack on the colonizers…Footage of liberation fighters from Gaza paragliding into occupied territory has especially shown the creativity necessary to take back stolen land.”
At Berkley, Bears for Palestine had a statement of solidarity for the “Resistance Uprising in Gaza” which says, “We support the resistance, we support the liberation movement, and we indisputably support the Uprising.”
Various student organizations at Harvard also signed a letter placing the blame for the attacks on Israel.
Shortly after terrorist paragliders brutally attacked innocent festivalgoers in Israel, the Chicago Black Lives Matter Chapter posted a graphic of a paraglider with the Palestinian flag that read “I Stand with Palestine.”
Children First
by Wim Laven
During 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas at least 67 children under age 18 were killed in Gaza and two in Israel. The story “They Were Only Children” was featured in the New York Times on May 26, 2021. Their pictures were featured on the cover page.
Hamas continues to fail. Their attacks—over and over and over—are used as justification for retaliatory strikes, increased occupation, and most recently evacuation orders. There are now too many dead children to fit their pictures into a cover page.
There is too much failure. I have a PhD in International Conflict Management, but I don’t think it requires sophisticated analysis to see things are not working.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most accepted standard for children’s rights. These rights include: the right to health, education, family life, play and recreation, an adequate standard of living and to be protected from abuse and harm.
In 1977 additional protocols were added to the Geneva Convention to protect children in times of conflict, “children shall be the object of special respect and shall be protected against any form of indecent assault. The parties to the conflict shall provide them with the care and aid they require” (Art. 77).
The vulnerability of children is beyond dispute. We say we will provide them extra respect, but is it enough? How many dead children are too many?
Child psychologists treating the survivors will tell you that the suffering is immense. Surviving, for some, means learning to live without an arm, or leg, or the best friend who did not survive. PTSD in children is real and studies show that some children are literally too scared to learn.
Parents have children asking difficult questions, “Can [they] destroy our building in the dark?” What is reassuring? What is the truth? What makes a difference?
Refaat Alareer (@translate123) reports on these experiences of parenting in Gaza. On Oct. 15, 2023, he translated and retweeted: “Today, we entered the stage of ‘children first.’ Fresh water is about to run out, so we made a plan to fairly distribute each person’s share of water, and we gave priority to the Kids. Bread is enough for one day. The adults will have ‘only one meal.’ Children first.”
The promises to protect children are not being met. There is no exception written for “except in cases of ________” because there is no exception, period. Israeli children and Palestinian children equally deserve to be protected from indecent assault and they have an unequivocal right to healthy conditions.
Hamas: your strategy has not, is not, and will not ever work. It has always been counterproductive, and if you persist with violence more children will die.
Israel: your strategy has not, is not, and will not ever work. You are not an official terrorist organization, but you place yourself at the same level with the terrorists you oppose when you victimize innocent civilians and ignore your shared responsibility in protecting the rights of children.
Perhaps everyone would benefit from the reminder that sometimes putting children first requires sacrifice. Sacrifice the ego and political ambition and accept that violent responses do not deliver positive outcomes. The approaches that did not work in 2021 (and so many times before that) still will not work in 2023 and children are paying the price.
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Wim Laven, Ph.D., syndicated by PeaceVoice, teaches courses in political science and conflict resolution.
