Does a foreigner have a right to come to the United States on a visa and thereafter support terrorist organizations that are holding Americans hostage? The answer is no from both a legal and moral perspective.
There is a tendency for observers to equate the rights of a foreign non-citizen in the United States to that of an American citizen. There are vast differences.
American citizens have the right to say just about anything they want, as long as it does not incite violence. American citizens can say they hate Israel, Israelis, Jews, Arabs, Whites, Blacks, Asians, etc., and it’s not a crime. What American citizens cannot do — be they Arab Israeli, White, Black etc. — is close off highways, occupy buildings, or obstruct the freedom of movement of other individuals. That is a crime for which they should be severely prosecuted.
Now, let’s look at noncitizen foreigners who are here as a privilege at the pleasure of the American people.
The laws are clear that American government authorities under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 have a right to vet these individuals before they are allowed entrance into our nation to ensure that they are not hostile actors that can do harm to our nation. https://www.uscis.gov/laws-and-policy/legislation/immigration-and-nationality-act
If someone seeking a visa to the United States were to say that they were supporters of Hamas — a terrorist organization that is holding Americans hostage — they would be rightfully denied that visa.
Likewise, if they are granted the visa and thereafter take action to support this terrorist organization, the visa can be removed, and rightly so.
That is the case with the former Columbia grad student, Mahmoud Khalil. The State Department does not have to show that he was engaged in a crime, though it’s very possible he was, if it can be shown that he was inciting others to barricade buildings and prevent the free movement of others.
But even if a crime was not committed if that individual was mobilizing people in support of an American enemy such as Hamas, the visa can and should be revoked.
Imagine it was 1942 and a German national on a visa in America was actively supporting the Nazi party. He would be deported in a nanosecond. This is to be distinguished from American citizens who rallied in support of the Nazis in the 1930s. That is not a crime.
But it’s different if you are a visitor here who is only allowed to stay by the good graces of the American people. If you abuse that privilege by supporting our named enemy, you can and should be deported.
Conflating the rights of American citizens with those who are here courtesy of our good graces is a very dangerous thing to do.