On Monday, Donald Trump made a campaign vow to ban immigrants who support Hamas from entering the country and to send law enforcement to pro-Hamas rallies to apprehend and deport anyone who publicly backs the terrorist Palestinian organization.
During a campaign visit in Iowa, Trump addressed the at least 1,300 Israelis killed by Hamas that started a conflict in which Palestinian health officials claim Israel killed over 2,800 Palestinians in Gaza.
Trump, who will serve as president from 2017 to 2021, has stated that if given a second term, he will prohibit immigration to the United States for anyone who does not support Israel’s right to exist and cancel the visas of international students who are “antisemitic.”
Moreover, he promised to tighten travel restrictions from “terror-plagued countries.” He didn’t specify how he would carry out his requests, such as the one asking immigrants to back Israel’s right to exist as part of what he called “strong ideological screening.”
Throughout his presidency, many of Trump’s immigration initiatives were contested in court; his most recent promises might also.
He put a ban on immigration from those countries with a majority of Muslims, which was overturned in lower courts but ultimately maintained by the U.S. Supreme Court. When Biden became president, that ban was lifted.
A restriction on immigration from Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, as well as “anywhere else that threatens our security,” was announced by Trump on Monday. Trump also recited a poem in which he compared immigrants to poisonous snakes.
Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison characterized Trump’s pledges as extremist, Islamophobic, and intended to play on “fear and anxiety.”
One of the first states to host the Republican presidential primary is Iowa. Trump’s first term as president was anchored by a harsh stance on immigration.
He is the favorite to receive his party’s presidential nomination and face Joe Biden in the November 2024 election.
If you’re a communist, Marxist, or you want to annihilate the state of Israel, you’re disqualified, or fascist, you’re disqualified.” Trump pledged to severely tighten immigration regulations in the United States.
The majority of Trump’s Republican opponents have denounced Hamas and expressed unwavering support for an anticipated Israeli assault of Gaza, but none have put out such a string of stringent recommendations to keep supporters of Hamas outside of and remove them from the United States.
Hamas has been classified as a terrorist group by the US and a number of other nations.
One of Trump’s competitors for the Republican presidential nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, stated on Monday that if elected president, he would ban Gaza refugees from entering the country and would consider deporting foreign students who support Hamas.
Last week, Trump criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not being ready for the Hamas onslaught and praised Hezbollah, the militant group in Lebanon with support from Iran, as “very smart.”
His comments in Iowa seemed to be an attempt, in part, to dispel that criticism.
