The United States Department announced a plan to introduce online artificial intelligence (AI) systems to detect international students backing Palestine-based resistance outfit Hamas and revoke their visas. The comprehensive approach will be carried out in collaboration with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
The AI-assisted operation, called “Catch and Revoke,” will examine social media accounts or pages of thousands of student visa holders. The AI algorithms will analyze contents posted on Facebook, X and Instagram to recognise material suggesting support for Hamas.
The innovation was unveiled by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who revealed that the AI-system reviews will also focus on evidence of alleged terrorist sympathies expressed after Hamas launched a big attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
“The AI will analyse internal databases to identify Hamas supporter visa holders who were arrested but allowed to stay in the country during the Biden administration. The US has zero tolerance for foreign students or visitors who support Hamas or other designated terrorist organisations”, the official told Axios.
Additionally, the Donald Trump administration officials will also scrutinise anti-Israel demonstrations and lawsuits filed by Jewish students, who alleged that foreign nationals engaged in “anti-semitic” activities without legal consequences.
However, the protesters have denied any antisemitism activity, stating that many Jewish student activists also took part in rallies supporting Palestine and denouncing Israeli military aggression in war-torn Gaza that resulted in the deaths of lakhs of civilians, including women and children.
The reports suggested that after the identifications, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would deport the students. Federal officials have already examined 100,000 individuals in the Student Exchange Visitor System since October 2023.
The United States is a historic ally of Israel and provides financial aid and weapons. Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign aid since its founding.
In April 2024, amid a war with Hamas, the US approved a 14.1 billion USD supplemental bill for Israel. It was specifically designed to bolster Israel’s defense capabilities during its aggression in war-torn Gaza and other occupied territories of Palestine.
Rights advocates flag concern
Reacting to the plans, rights advocates on March 6 flagged concerns and asserted that AI tools cannot be relied on to parse the nuances of expression regarding wider sensitive topics like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The head of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Abed Ayoub, stated the developments “signal an alarming erosion of constitutionally protected free speech and privacy rights. This should concern all Americans as the move is totally violation of freedom of speech.
Ayoub drew parallels to Operation Boulder, enforced in 1972 when the Nixon administration collected information about pro-Palestinian groups. He warned that AI makes surveillance more disturbing because it watches citizens and uses unreliable systems to monitor communication.
AI tools “cannot be relied on to parse the nuances of expression about complex and contested matters like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Reuters quoted Sarah McLaughlin, a scholar at FIRE.
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