Marco Rubio's plan to deport five international students and academics for their pro-Palestinian views was revealed to be based on a flawed premise, according to newly unsealed documents. The students, who were targeted by the Trump administration for supporting terrorism, were actually advocating for Palestinian rights and had not provided any material support to Hamas or other terrorist organizations.
The documents, which were obtained through a lawsuit brought by the students and other news outlets, show that Rubio's team relied on public statements made by the students in their decision-making process. However, these statements were often protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech.
The State Department and Homeland Security (DHS) had acknowledged that they were "in uncharted territory" when it came to applying US laws to deport foreign nationals who engaged in peaceful protest or advocacy for a cause. The DHS memo notes that there is no evidence to suggest that the students provided any material support to Hamas or other terrorist organizations.
Despite this, Rubio claimed on social media that the students were supporting terrorism and vowed to revoke their visas and green cards. The Trump administration's actions have been widely criticized as an attempt to suppress dissenting voices and undermine free speech.
The unsealing of these documents has shed new light on Rubio's role in targeting students for their pro-Palestinian views, raising questions about the motivations behind his actions and the administration's approach to immigration policy.
The documents, which were obtained through a lawsuit brought by the students and other news outlets, show that Rubio's team relied on public statements made by the students in their decision-making process. However, these statements were often protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech.
The State Department and Homeland Security (DHS) had acknowledged that they were "in uncharted territory" when it came to applying US laws to deport foreign nationals who engaged in peaceful protest or advocacy for a cause. The DHS memo notes that there is no evidence to suggest that the students provided any material support to Hamas or other terrorist organizations.
Despite this, Rubio claimed on social media that the students were supporting terrorism and vowed to revoke their visas and green cards. The Trump administration's actions have been widely criticized as an attempt to suppress dissenting voices and undermine free speech.
The unsealing of these documents has shed new light on Rubio's role in targeting students for their pro-Palestinian views, raising questions about the motivations behind his actions and the administration's approach to immigration policy.
This is just crazy! I mean, Marco Rubio was willing to take away people's visas and green cards just because they were expressing their opinions on social media? It's like, what's next? Deporting people for saying something against climate change or immigration reform? 
The fact that he relied on public statements from these students without even verifying the facts is just disturbing. I mean, come on, we're talking about freedom of speech here! Can't we just let people have their opinions and discuss them without fear of reprisal? 
It's all about silencing dissenting voices and undermining democracy. We need to speak out against this kind of behavior and stand up for our rights as citizens. 
what is going on with Marco Rubio?! 
it's all about silencing dissenting voices, imo. we gotta be careful not to let our elected officials abuse their power. 
the fact that he was making these claims on social media without evidence is just shady. 
i'm glad these docs are out now, hopefully this will bring some accountability for Rubio and his team. 
this is so messed up... i mean, how can you just deport people based on what they say online? it's like, freedom of speech, dude! 
those students were exercising their right to express their opinions and Rubio's team was just trying to silence them. it's not cool that he used his power to target people for their views. i hope this story gets more attention because it's a big deal and we should be talking about it. 
This is so messed up! Marco Rubio thought he could just use some students' statements against them because they were outspoken about supporting Palestinian rights? Like, what even is that? The fact that he went after them before anyone knew for sure what was going on is super sketchy.
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. It's like, if you're gonna do something as serious as deport someone, at least have the decency to fact-check your claims first 
. Instead, they just went ahead and targeted these students because they didn't want to hear their opinions 
. It's like, Rubio got to decide who gets deported based on his own personal biases without anyone holding him accountable 
.
Documents show Rubio's team relied on students' public statements to make decisions about deportation. 
[GIF: A person reading glasses, with a speech bubble saying " Um, what?"]
[Image of a speech bubble with a megaphone]
and those DHS memos saying they were "in uncharted territory" should've been a major red flag for Rubio and his team 
the docs show that these kids were actually talking about human rights and not supporting terrorism. like, what's next? deporting people for liking vegan food or something? 
it's crazy how some ppl think they can just use fear-mongering to control others' speech... & now rudy's gotta deal with the fallout 
. We need to stand up for these students and fight against this kind of oppression 
can you believe this? Marco Rubio's plan was based on some super sketchy info... like he thought these students were supporting terrorism just 'cause they wanted more rights for Palestinians 
it's crazy that the DHS had no idea how to handle this situation 
Anyway, I hope these newly unsealed documents bring some accountability to Rubio's actions. We need more transparency when it comes to government decisions like this! 
Rubio & the Trump admin need to be held accountable for their actions 
. But what really gets me is that they used public statements as evidence against these students, which is basically a slippery slope for free speech 
. That's like saying "we made it up as we went along". This whole thing reeks of politics and trying to control people's voices 
.
and it's crazy that he thought he could get away with it 
It's all about suppressing dissenting voices and restricting free speech, which is super problematic 