Marco Rubio Is Harnessing The Power Of AI To Cancel Visas Of Foreign Students With 'Pro-Hamas' Views: 'Catch And Revoke'

The State Department, under Secretary Marco Rubio, is reportedly launching an AI-driven initiative to revoke the visas of foreign students who express views deemed supportive of Hamas.

What Happened: In a policy shift, the State Department will deploy artificial intelligence to analyze the social media activity of student visa holders, searching for signs of sympathy toward Hamas or other designated terrorist organizations, reported Axios, citing senior officials.

The effort, known as “Catch and Revoke,” will also review past arrests, school suspensions, and media reports on anti-Israel demonstrations to determine whether a visa should be revoked.

See Also: Hamas Releases Four Female Israeli Soldiers After More Than a Year in Captivity

The initiative is being coordinated with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.

Officials say the move follows a review of 100,000 students in the Student Exchange Visitor System, which found that no visas had been revoked during the Joe Biden administration despite instances of student arrests.

Rubio and other officials argue that prior policies allowed foreign nationals to engage in what they call extremist rhetoric without consequences.

Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.

Why It Matters: On Tuesday, during his Congressional address, President Donald Trump pledged to cut off federal funding to educational institutions that permit what he describes as unlawful protests.

“Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or .. arrested,” he stated at the time.

Hamas is officially classified as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

Last month, Israel announced plans to enter negotiations with Hamas to secure a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and facilitate the release of remaining Israeli hostages.

Photo Courtesy: Maxim Elramsisy on Shutterstock.com

Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Read Next:

• Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak Blasts DOGE’s Mass Firings, Says Musk-Led Cuts Are Like Using A Sledgehammer Instead Of A Scalpel

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.