Social Media Posts Now Impacting Immigration Decisions

Anyone that is not a U.S. citizen should consider scrubbing their social media for any “antisemitic content.” It’s plausible that USCIS officials might interpret certain pro-Palestinian content as antisemitic within this context.  

The USCIS announced that, as of April 9th, 2025, it will begin considering noncitizens’ antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests. This will affect noncitizens applying for lawful permanent resident status (green cards), foreign students, and noncitizens affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity. Under this guidance, USCIS will “consider social media content that indicates a noncitizen endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity as a negative factor in any USCIS discretionary analysis when adjudicating immigration benefit requests.” 

The announcement comes following the highly publicized arrests and detentions of pro-Palestinian student activists such as Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk, who the government alleges engaged in antisemitic activities. Their lawyers deny the allegations.