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Three unions filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Thursday, arguing that the federal government violated the First Amendment rights of visa holders legally in the U.S. by using a program to search their social media for specific views, including criticism of the U.S. government and Israel.
The United Auto Workers, Communications Workers of America, and the American Federation of Teachers sued the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This comes after the State Department said it had revoked the visas of at least six people over social media comments made about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination last month.
“Plaintiffs represent thousands of people whose speech is paralyzed by the threat of adverse immigration measures if the government disapproves of anything they have expressed or will express,” the lawsuit reads.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO EVALUATE LEGAL IMMIGRANT APPLICANTS FOR ‘ANTI-AMERICANISM’ AND ANTI-SEMITISM
Three unions sued the Trump administration for alleged First Amendment violations to visa holders. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Administration officials have asserted that foreigners do not have the same constitutional rights as U.S. citizens and are not entitled to a visa, as the federal government seeks to target them for expression.
“The United States has no obligation to allow foreigners to come to our country, commit acts of anti-American, pro-terrorism and anti-Semitic hate, or incite violence. We will continue to revoke the visas of those who put the safety of our citizens at risk,” State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
The lawsuit points to high-profile cases and comments from federal officials to argue that a government program uses artificial intelligence and other automated tools to surveil visa holders’ positions and targets people critical of the Trump administration and what the government considers a “hate ideology.”
The federal government has broadly defined support for terrorism to include criticism of U.S. support for Israel and the Jewish state’s military action, as well as support for the Palestinians. The government has used this as justification for canceling visas.
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The State Department said it had revoked the visas of at least six people over social media comments made about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk following his assassination last month. (Getty Images)
The unions’ complaint cited the case of green card holder Mahmoud Khalil, who was released in June after months in detention after the government tried to deport him for participating in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
The lawsuit says immigration threats over opinions disapproved by the government have led some union members to stop publicly affiliating with their unions in organizing events, to resign from their leadership roles, and to “delete, abstain from, or otherwise alter their social media and online interaction with the unions.”
“This loss of engagement has impaired plaintiffs’ ability to advance their organizational missions and impeded their ability to carry out their responsibilities, which include recruiting, retaining, and organizing union members; advocating on behalf of union members; and promoting civic and political engagement among union members,” the lawsuit says.
Many union members have stopped expressing their views because “the government has promised and demonstrated that saying the wrong thing can trigger life-altering immigration consequences, particularly for visa holders and lawful permanent residents,” the complaint reads.
The federal government has broadly defined support for terrorism to include criticism of U.S. support for Israel. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, the administration has sought online posts targeting foreigners for possible termination of their visas.
On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order to ensure that visa holders “do not adopt hostile attitudes toward their citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles, and do not defend, assist or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security.”
Over the summer, the State Department said it would begin requiring applicants to make their social media accounts public for government monitoring and that interviews with applicants would determine who might pose a threat to national security.
Reuters contributed to this report.