Donalds Demands Investigation into Potential Visa Fraud at Antisemitic College Protests

As law enforcement cracks down on the antisemitic demonstrations on American college campuses, Congress seeks to ensure perpetrators receive full accountability for their actions. Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) recently cosigned a letter issued by Representative Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) demanding investigations of visa fraud perpetrated by college administrators to protect international students who participated in illegal activity during the protests.

Among the notable incidents perpetrated by protesters include the occupation of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, which the New York City Police forcibly cleared. At the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), a large brawl broke out between pro-Palestine protesters and pro-Israel counter-protesters, which included incidents of throwing fireworks.

More ominously, police in Austin, Texas, discovered caches of weapons, including firearms, hidden by students and professional agitators at the University of Texas protests.

As a result, Rep. Donalds' and Rep. Van Duyne's letter called for investigations into college administrators at Columbia, the University of Texas, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other campuses "where mass demonstration activity is taking place to determine whether and to what degree university officials are committing visa fraud through their concealment of information, noncooperation with law enforcement, and refusal to enforce codes of conduct."

In his press release, Rep. Donalds said, "Universities have failed to apply consequences to foreign students who are in the United States on limited educational visas. I stand with Rep. Beth Van Duyne in demanding that U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigate any possible cases of visa fraud regarding those involved in recent illegal activity on America's campuses. If you are not a U.S. citizen and you commit crimes in this country, your visa should be revoked."

Near the end of April, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) expressed similar sentiment at a press conference in West Palm Beach, saying students on foreign visas who took part in the protests and harassed or intimidated Jewish students should have their visas revoked and deported.

"You know, because you have a right to protest this stuff, you don't have a right to harass other people, you don't have the right to go to target on someone's back based on their on their religion or ethnicity, and if you're doing those things, so you're going to be shown I think these students if they're foreign students on visas, their visa should be canceled and they should be sent home," said Gov. DeSantis.