Immigrants social media accounts will be monitored for antisemitic activity, DHS says

Adding to growing fears of digital surveillance under the Trump administration, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will begin screening immigrants’ social media accounts in an effort to uncover “antisemitic activity,” the department explained. The department will be on the hunt for content that appears to be “endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity,” the order says. Under the new directive, evidence of such online activity, as well as physical harassment of Jewish citizens, determined by the USCIS and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), can be used as grounds for denying immigrant benefit requests. SEE ALSO: Phone inspections when crossing the U.S. border: What you need to know about your rights and security In line with President Donald Trump’s executive orders to tighten immigration enforcement and combat antisemitism, the DHS argues such surveillance will “protect the homeland from extremists and terrorist aliens, including those who support antisemitic terrorism, violent antisemitic ideologies and antisemitic terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or Ansar Allah aka: ‘the Houthis.’”While reports of antisemitism have increased across the U.S., activists argue the policy is less of a protective measure and more of an opportunity to root out criticism of Israel’s occupation and siege of Palestinian territories, as well as America’s allegiance to the foreign power. Over the last month, several international students who have vocally supported Palestine were clandestinely arrested by immigration agents, including graduate students Rumeysa Öztürk, Ranjani Srinivasan, and…Immigrants social media accounts will be monitored for antisemitic activity, DHS says