U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 9, 2025 that it will begin considering foreign nationals’ anti-Semitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests. This will immediately affect foreign nationals applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and foreign nationals affiliated with educational institutions linked to anti-Semitic activity.
Consistent with President Trump’s executive orders on Combatting Anti-Semitism, Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism and Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, DHS will enforce all relevant immigration laws to the maximum degree, to protect the homeland from extremists and terrorist aliens, including those who support anti-Semitic terrorism, violent anti-Semitic ideologies and anti-Semitic terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or Ansar Allah aka: “the Houthis.”
Under this guidance, USCIS will consider social media content that indicates a foreign national endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting anti-Semitic terrorism, anti-Semitic terrorist organizations, or other anti-Semitic activity as a negative factor in any USCIS discretionary analysis when adjudicating immigration benefit requests.