Rioting students should lose visas and financial aid, GOP lawmaker says
Washington,
July 2, 2024
Originally Published in the Washington Examiner on July 2nd, 2024.
EXCLUSIVE — Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) introduced two bills this week aimed at stripping students who assault police officers and are convicted of offenses related to rioting of visas and financial aid. The Washington Examiner exclusively obtained the two bills, the Uproot Rioting International Students Engaged in Radical Subversion Act and the Freeze Aid for Student Assaulters Act, on Tuesday. Both bills come after a spring college semester characterized by pro-Palestinian encampments and clashes with police. The fall semester starts in just over a month. “I’m proud to introduce two critical pieces of legislation to ensure safety and uphold the rule of law. The ‘UPRISERS Act’ will revoke the visas of any international students, students, faculty members, and any other individual in the U.S. on a visa who assaults a police officer or participates in riots,” Pfluger told the Washington Examiner. “Additionally, we will strip federal student aid from those convicted of these violent acts. If you attack our officers or riot in our streets, you will face consequences — no exceptions. America welcomes those who contribute positively, not those who bring chaos and violence.” The UPRISERS Act also makes any international student guilty of those crimes eligible for deportation. If passed, the bills could have a significant impact on some of the most elite schools, where many of the spring protests took place. Columbia University, where the pro-Palestinian protests began, has a majority international students, clocking in at about 55%, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. Many of the top schools pull massive tuition dollars from international students, who get charged a premium for attending. The FAFSA Act, which targets money from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, would not only take financial aid away from any student who is convicted of assaulting police or engaging in riots and related activity but also would require them to pay back the aid they had already received up until that point. The financial aid would automatically be turned into a student loan, for which the convicted student is not eligible for loan forgiveness or cancellation. |