Texas congresswoman files bill to deport foreigners committing crimes at college protests
For multiple weeks, we have seen pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.
North Texas Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (R-Irving) has a bill that would make it a revocable offense for anyone arrested and charged who is not from the U.S. in one of these protests.
The bill calls for a change in the immigration law that would deport foreign nationals found guilty of a crime at "pro-terrorism or antisemitic rallies" in the United States.
The bill is called "The Hamas Supporters Have No Home Here Act."
She talked with FOX 4's Steven Dial about the bill and more in an interview.
Rep. Beth Van Duyne: When you come to America from a foreign country, the rights that you have are fairly limited. It's not like you've got constitutional protections. When you come here, and you spew American hate when you spew, hate against the Jewish people, when you insist and make demands that that we support Hamas terrorists that have committed the worst atrocities against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. You don't deserve to stay.
Steven Dial: Would you agree that everyone that are participating in these protests are not for Hamas? They are for a cease fire. They are for just ending this war and not killing innocent people on either side. Do you believe that everyone who was at a pro-Palestinian rally is somehow supporting Hamas?
Van Duyne: I think there's a lot of people at these rallies that don't know what they're supporting. They're there because they think it's cool. They're there because organizers are telling them to go on campus, and they're just doing it. Somebody described them as useful idiots in some examples that's true. So no. Do I believe they're all like that? No. But if you are here from a foreign country, and you're spewing hatred against the American people, and you're spewing hatred against the Jewish people, and you're supporting terrorist activities, and you're committing a crime while doing it, I don't think you deserve to stay in this country and this is what this bill promotes.
Dial: Some could call this a racist bill. I mean, some could say that, why are you just targeting people who are not native to this country? There are students who are U.S. citizens who are participating in this, so why just target people who are not from here?
Van Duyne: There's one thing to say, but there's another thing, actually to commit a crime on a university campus. I don't think that's a racist behavior. You know, I think people who commit crimes regardless of color, regardless of ethnicity, where they're from, language that they speak, the religion that they practice should be held accountable. So I think, you know, saying that is somehow racist is wrong. But if you are in this country, there should be a certain amount of respect that you have for American laws. And if you are already willing to completely throw that to the wind and preach American hate, hate against the Jewish people in support of terrorist activity, you do not deserve the rights and the privileges of being in our country.
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Dial: You recently voted against the massive spending aid package that included funding for Ukraine and included a TikTok ban. Tell me why you voted against it.
Van Duyne: Well, there's a number of bills that we had, and the one for Taiwan I supported. The bill that supported Israel, I supported. The bill on Ukraine I did not support, because we are in desperate times right now at our southern border, and we are trying to do everything that we can to make sure that we get the policies that have allowed 11 million people into our country illegally changed. And that bill, which is so supported by Democrats who within the language of the bill of Ukraine, talk about how how important it is to maintain the borders in Ukraine, don't seem to have that same respect for our borders in the U.S. It was an opportunity to be able to attach the H.R. 2 bill that we passed, our strong border bill that we passed through the House last year, over a year ago, we had an opportunity to be able to attach it to a Ukraine bill because that's what Democrats are pushing for. So it would have been a compromise. We would have gotten support for Ukraine, but we also would have gotten support at our southern border, which is so lacking. And I could not vote for one without the other.
FILE - Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) talks to reporters during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on Feb. 14, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Dial: Where do you stand when it comes to confidence in Speaker Mike Johnson? Do you still have confidence in him?
Van Duyne: I think Mike is taking the hand that he's got, and he's having to go into the Senate. He's having to go negotiate with Chuck Schumer and with the Biden administration. And he realizes that, you know, he does not necessarily always have the votes that he needs to be able to provide him coverage to be the best negotiating power. So, you know, I have full support in Mike Johnson. He is doing the best he can in a bad situation, and there's a lot of people you couldn't pay to do that job right now. He's stepped up, and I think he's doing a great job.
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