Hawzah News Agency - According to Irna, the wave of arrests and deportations is part of the Donald Trump administration’s efforts to suppress opposition to U.S. military and diplomatic support for Israel, which has intensified during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas. At some point, I hope we've run out because we've gotten rid of them,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday.

Rubio said student visas are intended for academic purposes, not activism, saying, “We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist, to tear up our university campuses.”

Rubio’s remarks followed the recent arrest of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, who was detained outside her home by immigration officers.

Ozturk had authored an article in the campus newspaper urging the university to recognize Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide. Despite her detention, she has not been formally charged with any crime.

Other high-profile arrests in the past month include Palestinian Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident, and Badar Khan Suri, an Indian postdoctoral researcher.

The Trump administration has also introduced new visa requirements, mandating ideological tests for foreign students.

According to a State Department directive, consular officers must conduct social media reviews of visa applicants to identify any connections to “terrorism,” with particular scrutiny on those involved in protests against the war in Gaza.