Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade said he didn’t care that the Trump administration’s revocation of student visas over pro-Palestine protests and opinions could have a “chilling effect” on free speech and paint the United States as a censorious regime.
Kilmeade’s colleague Lawrence Jones went even further, saying that he wants “chills to run down the spine of not only terrorists but of people that are residents here.”
During Friday’s broadcast of President Donald Trump’s favorite morning talk show, co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy — whose husband currently serves as Trump’s transportation secretary — expressed some concern that the State Department’s “Catch and Revoke” program could lead to a slippery slope when it comes to freedom of speech.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that he had recently revoked the visa of Rumeya Ozturk, a Tufts University doctoral student and Fulbright scholar from Turkey. Ozturk, who co-wrote an op-ed in the student newspaper criticizing the university’s response to anti-war demonstrations, was detained by plainclothes ICE officers wearing masks near the Tufts campus.
“Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visa,” Rubio stated. “Might be more than 300 at this point. Might be more. We do it every day.”
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Reacting to an interview of a Columbia student who “self-deported” to Canada following the arrest and attempted deportation of student activist and permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil, Campos-Duffy noted the student said Khalil’s detention “sent shockwaves across the community” and that she felt she had no rights in America.
“I would never protest government; that is rude and you are not being a good guest. I don’t believe in violence,” she wondered. “I don’t think we should have violence, and I don’t believe in terrorists. I don’t want anyone here with ties to Hamas. I am concerned about free speech. I am a free speech absolutist. I wonder what the criteria is here.”
The conservative host continued: “Should we deport people who criticize America and American policies? What is the line? Or only if you criticize Israeli government policy? There are a lot of really good people right now who are very concerned about the chilling effect this could have, not just on green card holders and people on visas. What is the message to American citizens about free speech?”
Responding that “I wouldn’t worry about American citizens,” Kilmeade stated that “these are not American citizens” but rather people in the country on student visas and green cards.
“No, I’m just saying the chilling effect,” Campos-Duffy interjected.
“Oh, I don’t care,” Kilmeade reacted, prompting Campos-Duffy to wonder if those being detained and deported are really “connected to Hamas” or merely criticizing Israeli policy.
After bringing up a lawsuit from several family members of Hamas hostages alleging Khalil and other student protest groups are a “propaganda arm” for the terrorist organization, Kilmeade then argued that anyone who is not an American citizen who criticizes the United States or its allies should expect to be removed from the country.
“They tossed out somebody at Tufts University. Caught this PhD student. They also threw out someone yesterday at Harvard. They threw out Kseniia Petrova, a Russian research associate, also with anti-American activity,” Kilmeade exclaimed. “You’re over here, you’re protesting this country and our allies, goodbye!”
Petrova, whose visa was revoked over undeclared frog embryo samples found in her luggage when returning to the U.S., is currently being detained in a Louisiana immigration facility. Her lawyers say Petrova will likely face jail time and persecution if she returns to Russia due to her protests decrying the Ukraine War.
“I would just say this, Rachel. I see your point. I see how it can be chilling,” Jones stated. “But I want chills to run down the spine of not only terrorists but of people that are residents here. You are visitors here! You don’t have the right — be on your best behavior here! And what we are dealing with is people who don’t love the country. People that have radical ties and I think they’re trying to use our laws against us.”
Campos-Duffy noted that Jones made a “fair point” and that she was also concerned about universities admitting too many foreign students, which she claimed left a lot of American “valedictorians” on the sideline and denied admission.
“All of them! Especially if they’re white,” Kilmeade added.
“Exactly! If they’re white males, Campos-Duffy noted. In the meantime, the White House is “discussing plans to try to block certain colleges from having any foreign students if it decides too many are ‘pro-Hamas,’” Axios reported this week.
At the same time, though, she urged the administration to “be careful” that they don’t “leave the impression on the world that we are not for free speech.” Kilmeade and Jones, however, reiterated that they didn’t share those same concerns.
“But I do want the impression in the world that if they come over here and create havoc,” Kilmeade noted as Jones finished his thought: “They’ve got to go!”
Source: independent.co.uk