Trump administration revokes visas for 6 foreigners over Charlie Kirk-related speech
FILE - Charlie Kirk speaks onstage at Politicon 2018 at Los Angeles Convention Center on Oct. 20, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration revoked six foreigner’s visas due to their comments regarding Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The State Department on Tuesday said it had deemed comments made by these individuals were derisive and made light of Kirk’s death.
Online posts lead to revocation
Dig deeper:
The six individuals allegedly posted clips about Kirk on social media, according to the administration, leading to their visas being revoked.
The six foreigners who had their visas revoked were from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay and South Africa. They were not identified.
Free speech concerns
Why you should care:
The announcement came as President Donald Trump was posthumously awarding him America's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. At Kirk’s funeral in September, Trump called him a "great American hero" and "martyr" for freedom.
The administration and its supporters have targeted people for their comments about Kirk, leading to firings or other discipline of journalists, teachers and others, and raising free speech concerns.
The backstory:
In addition to Tuesday's action, the administration has ramped up efforts to identify and potentially expel thousands of foreigners in the United States, notably students, who it says have either fomented or participated in unrest or publicly supported protests against Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
The administration has also denied visas to applicants whose social media histories have been critical of its policies.
Among the higher-profile cases, the administration has expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the United States for comments critical of Trump, revoked a visa for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the U.N. General Assembly and yanked the visas for British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan. It said it is reviewing the status of the more than 55 million current U.S. visa holders for potential violations of its standards.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press and previous reporting by FOX Local.