President Donald Trump is expected to sign a directive Wednesday instructing federal agencies on the civil and criminal powers available to combat antisemitism.
The New York Post reports that the order also instructs agencies on how to deport anti-Israel activists who have violated laws.
Karoline Leavitt, White House spokesperson in an interview with Fox News this morning, said that Trump would sign an executive order to address antisemitism.
After the Hamas invasion of Israel and its massacre on October 7, 2023, and the war that followed in Gaza, anti-Israel protesters began to appear on campus across the U.S.
The Post reported that Trump’s order gives agency and department heads 60 days to make recommendations on how to combat antisemitism.
The Justice Department also plans to investigate pro-Hamas intimidation and graffiti, including on university campuses.
The order states that aliens, including visa-holding students, who break laws in the context of anti-Israel protests will be deported.
House Republicans released their findings and recommendations in December after an investigation into antisemitism at U.S. colleges. The executive branch was urged to enforce Title VI aggressively and hold universities accountable if they violate their obligations.
Reports also stated that the State Department of former President Joe Biden and the Department of Homeland Security refused to provide records about the number of visa holders among protesters.
The Guardian reported in November that the Trump administration was preparing universities for funding cuts and investigation. A push to crackdown on anti-Israel protests would probably be the first salvo.
At a rally in Wildwood (New Jersey) on May 15, the then-candidate Trump spoke about the protests that took place on campus.
“When I’m president, we will not allow our colleges to be taken over by violent radicals,” he told the crowd. “And if you come here from another country and try to bring jihadism or anti-Americanism or antisemitism to our campuses, we will immediately deport you. You’ll be out of that school.”
