Sec. of State Rubio says US has canceled 300 visas of ‘lunatics’ who support terrorism

Department of Homeland Security official: “A visa is a privilege, not a right.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

During a visit to Guyana, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump Administration’s policy of deporting non-citizens who engage in activities that support terror groups.

Rubio said that the US has revoked 300 visas from “lunatics” who openly support Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

He said, “Maybe more than 300 at this point. We do it every day, every time I find one of these lunatics.”

When asked about the visa cancellation of Turkish citizen and Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk, Rubio explained, “We revoked [her visa] and here’s why … If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason that you’re coming to the United States is not just cause you want to write 0p-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we’re not gonna give you a visa.”

He added, “If you lie to us and get a visa and enter the United States and with that visa participate in that sort of activity, we’re gonna take away your visa. And once you’ve lost your visa, you’re no longer legally in the United States and we have a right, like every country in the world has a right, to remove you from that country.”

Authorities detained Ozturk on Tuesday after she left her home in the Boston suburb of Somerville, and she was moved to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Basile, Louisiana on Thursday.

A US Department of Homeland Security official said Ozturk “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.”

“A visa is a privilege, not a right,” the spokesperson said. “Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is common sense security.”