Attorney General Miyares joins 20 State Attorneys General calling for removal of foreign student visa holders who support terrorist groups

Richmond, Va. — Attorney General Jason Miyares joined a coalition of 20 state attorneys general in sending a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas calling for the prompt removal of foreign student visa holders who are found to have endorsed terror activity or provided material support to foreign terrorist organizations.

“The terrorist attack on Israel cannot be justified or rationalized. Supporting or endorsing the terrorist organizations who committed the acts is not only immoral, but un-American and peddles dangerous misinformation. Foreign student visa holders endorsing or supporting terrorist organizations do not deserve the privilege and opportunity provided to them,” said Attorney General Miyares.

Since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, where 1,400 men, women, children and babies were killed and 240 were taken captive, college campuses have become a glowing hotbed of antisemitic activity and threats of violence against Jewish students and people at a time when Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a group linked to both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad—two entities designated by the U.S. Department of State as “foreign terrorist organizations”—issued a “call to action” asking its college chapters to hold demonstrations on campuses across the country.

The Immigration and Nationality Act provides that “[a]ny alien who … endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization” is “ineligible to receive [a] visa[] and ineligible to be admitted to the United States.” 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(i)(VII). Additionally, anyone who “knowingly provides material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, or attempts or conspires to do so” commits a federal crime. 18 U.S.C. 2339B(a)(1).