By
Federal immigration enforcement will begin screening non-citizens’ social media accounts for “antisemitic activity” as grounds for denying visa and green card applications, according to an April 9 announcement from the Department of Homeland Security.
. . .
Ashkhen Kazaryan, fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum and senior legal fellow at the Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University, said “antisemitic activity” could easily be misconstrued to infringe on protected political speech.
“The government cannot lawfully punish a non-citizen for their speech simply because it is unpopular or politically sensitive,” Kazaryan said in an email. “However, in practice, immigration law gives federal agencies broad discretion and that creates a chilling effect even though non-citizens in the U.S. have the right to speak.”
Read More
Ashkhen Kazaryan
Ashkhen Kazaryan is a Senior Legal Fellow at The Future of Free Speech, where she leads initiatives to protect free expression and shape policies that uphold the First Amendment in the digital age.