Presidential Candidate DeSantis Vows to Deport Pro-Hamas Foreign Students if Elected

DeSantis's proposed policy raises controversy amid rising tensions between Israel and Hamas.

Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has promised to cancel student visas and deport foreign nationals supporting Hamas if he wins the presidency in 2024. His policy focuses on pro-Palestinian student groups in U.S. universities that have publicly endorsed Hamas' attacks on Israel.
Senator Tim Scott, also a presidential candidate, has expressed his plans to withhold Pell Grants from universities that fail to eliminate antisemitism on their campuses. Both DeSantis and Scott have shown strong support for Israel.
DeSantis's actions after Hamas' attack on Israel have included helping Floridians stranded in Israel return home and condemning student groups that support Hamas. DeSantis's administration also sent emergency supplies to Israel.
The proposed policies have sparked controversy, with other Republican lawmakers such as Senators Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton supporting DeSantis's stance on revoking visas and deporting foreign nationals who support Hamas.
DeSantis's position on refugees from Gaza is clear: he does not support accepting them into the U.S., arguing that while not all are affiliated with Hamas, they are, in his view, all antisemitic and do not believe in Israel's right to exist.