‘Catch and Revoke’: Civil Liberties Groups Warn of First Amendment Risks in New State Department AI Initiative
A new State Department initiative to deploy artificial intelligence for screening foreign students’ social media activity has triggered widespread concern among civil liberties advocates who warn of potential First Amendment violations.
The program, first revealed in an Axios report on Thursday, aims to identify and potentially deport international students who express views perceived as supportive of Hamas or other designated terrorist groups.
“This should concern all Americans. This is a First Amendment and freedom of speech issue,” said Abed Ayoub, head of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, in response to the revelations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is spearheading what officials internally call a “Catch and Revoke” operation, which will scan social media accounts of tens of thousands of student visa holders. The technology will specifically flag content expressing sympathy for Hamas following its October 7 attack on Israel last year.
Rubio said on social media that the United States “has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorists,” adding that “violators of US law — including international students — face visa denial or revocation, and deportation.”
Freedom of expression experts caution that such technology carries serious risks. “AI tools cannot be relied on to parse the nuances of expression about complex and contested matters like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Sarah McLaughlin, a scholar with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told Reuters.
The initiative is a serious escalation in the government’s monitoring of foreign nationals. Officials told Axios they are examining internal records to identify visa holders who may have been arrested during protests but were permitted to remain in the country during the Biden administration.
A senior State Department official defended the approach, arguing the department would be “negligent” to ignore publicly available information about visa applicants that could indicate security concerns.
Fox News has reported that at least one student has already had their visa revoked under this initiative for alleged participation in “Hamas-supporting disruptions,” though details about this case remain limited.
Critics draw parallels to Operation Boulder of 1972, when the Nixon administration surveilled pro-Palestinian groups. Ayoub noted the current approach is potentially more dangerous: “With the advent of AI, it’s even scarier because they’re policing speech and using faulty technology.”
The program comes amid ongoing tensions on college campuses, where pro-Palestinian demonstrations have sometimes included antisemitic rhetoric, while some Jewish students have reported feeling threatened. Trump previously signed a January executive order targeting what he termed “pro-Hamas activity,” saying: “To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice.”
Federal officials have already reviewed approximately 100,000 individuals in the Student Exchange Visitor System since October 2023, examining whether any visas had been revoked due to arrests or academic suspensions during this period.
State Department representatives indicated the initiative involves collaboration with both the Justice Department and Homeland Security, describing it as a “whole of government approach” to addressing perceived security threats.
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