The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced on Thursday (May 8th) on platform X that the U.S. is reviewing the visa status of the “invaders and vandals” involved in the recent occupation of Butler Library at Columbia University. Rubio stated that “our great nation no longer welcomes pro-Hamas thugs.”
On Wednesday, around 80 protesters were arrested by the police after invading the Butler Library at Columbia University in New York City. Many of the protesters wore masks and kaffiyehs (traditional Arab headscarves, often worn as a symbol of Palestinian identity and resistance), disrupted students preparing for exams, vandalized property, and claimed the library as a “liberated zone” in support of Palestinian activities.
The protest was organized by the student group “Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD)”, demanding that the university divest its $1.48 billion endowment from weapons manufacturers and other companies that support the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian territories. Protesters also called for the release of Columbia’s Palestinian graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested for participating in previous protests and is currently detained at an immigration detention center in Louisiana.
This protest marked the largest anti-Israel pro-Hamas event at Columbia since April last year, with some arguing that opposing Israeli attacks in Gaza does not equate to anti-Semitism, and supporting Palestinians does not equate to supporting Hamas.
Rubio’s proposal aligns with broader actions taken by the Trump administration to combat extreme forces using political activities as a pretext for violence.
Following President Trump’s January signing of the executive order titled “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism”, the government has been reviewing the visa statuses of students involved in such violent protest activities.
Columbia University President Claire Shipman condemned the violent actions of the protesters as “appalling”, noting that two public safety officers were injured and unrelated external individuals were present. The New York Police Department was called in to restore order and ensure campus safety.
Republican U.S. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik from New York called on the university to take swift action. In a tweet, she wrote, “While Columbia University students are working hard to prepare for final exams, they are disrupted by the noise of a ‘global intifada’; President Trump is right: if a university allows chaos, anti-Semitism, and civil rights infringements on its campus, taxpayers’ money should not flow there.”
She added, “Columbia University must act immediately, the situation is bad enough!”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams also released a statement on platform X, saying, “New York City will always defend the right to peaceful protest, but we will not tolerate lawlessness. … We will also not allow any form of hatred or violence to spread in this city.”
In recent years, there has been growing concern over increasingly radicalized student-led campus protest activities. Many protests have escalated into violence, disrupting academic life, echoing and propagating statements associated with foreign terrorist organizations, indicating that far-left anti-capitalist activities are increasingly merging with radical anti-Israel networks on a deeper ideological level.