U.S. Government To Monitor Immigrants’ Social Media For Antisemitism

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday that it will begin screening immigrants’ social media activity to detect antisemitism and deny immigration requests.

According to the official announcement, the new measures have been taken in alliance with President Donald Trump’s orders and initiatives to protect the homeland from terrorists and extremists.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will consider international students and aliens with legal residency and visas who support antisemitic ideologies or terrorism, as well as organizations such as Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, or Ansar Allah.

“There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,” said DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin.

A few weeks ago, USCIS said that it wanted to screen social media profiles of citizens applying for visas. The details of which platforms are being considered for the new measures and the strategies have not been disclosed, but in current application forms, people are already asked to share profiles from social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and X.

According to NBC News, the government uses data analytics tools previously used during Biden’s administration, run by Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center and National Vetting Center. The software is similar to the one used for keeping dangerous people from entering the U.S.

A former official told the news division that during the previous government, it was used to recognize violent students, not non-violent aliens. “We were not targeting political activity or speech. We would only review them if they were inciting violence,” said the official.

The U.S. government has been deploying other technologies for immigration control. A few weeks ago, the DHS launched the CBP Home app to allow illegal aliens to self-deport and avoid detention under the “Stay Out and Leave Now” campaign.