US revokes six foreigners’ visas over social media comments criticizing Charlie Kirk | Trump administration

Donald Trump’s US State Department announced on Tuesday that it had revoked the visas of six foreigners due to comments on social media regarding the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk.

“The United States has no obligation to shelter foreigners who wish Americans dead,” the State Department said in a statement published on X. “The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.”

The State Department then listed six “examples of foreigners who are no longer welcome in the United States” in a thread on the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, the Trump donor who called himself a “free speech absolutist” before buying the site formerly known as Twitter.

The thread included screenshots and quotes from people identified as foreign nationals from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay and South Africa.

None of the individuals were identified by name, but the screenshots helped trace the identities of two people, including one who had been singled out for abuse by conservatives on X.

“Charlie Kirk will not be remembered as a hero,” read one of the comments posted on X. “He used to astroturf a white nationalist caravan movement! »

The thread ended with a statement from the State Department that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “will defend our borders, our culture, and our citizens by enforcing our immigration laws. Foreigners who take advantage of American hospitality while celebrating the murder of our citizens will be deported.”

Last month, a deputy secretary of state, Christopher Landau, urged social media users to send him messages critical of Kirk, saying he was “disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing or making light of the event, and asked our consular officials to take appropriate action.”

The administration has already stepped up efforts to identify and potentially expel thousands of foreign students it accuses of participating in unrest in the form of protests against Israel’s massacre of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The administration also asked foreign visitors to make their social media accounts public so they can be verified before being allowed into the land of the free.

In recent months, the administration expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the United States for comments critical of Trump, revoked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ visa to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York and canceled the visas of British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.

The government also said it was reviewing the status of more than 55 million visa holders to enter the United States for possible violations of its standards.

These actions have been criticized by civil rights groups as blatant violations of constitutional protections of free speech, which apply to anyone in the United States, not just citizens.