Donald Trump To End School Funding, Deport Protesting Foreign Students
President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that “agitators” involved in “illegal protests” on college campuses would face imprisonment, while foreign students participating in such demonstrations would be deported.
Trump also pledged to withdraw federal funding from any educational institution that permits “illegal” protests. “All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” Trump stated on Truth Social early Tuesday.
“Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he further said.
This statement followed the Trump administration’s threat to revoke $51.4 million in government contracts from Columbia University due to its failure to take disciplinary action against anti-Israel protests that targeted Jewish students. The federal contracts are under review by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the General Services Administration.
“Anti-Semitism – like racism – is a spiritual and moral malady that sickens societies and kills people with lethalities comparable to history’s most deadly plagues,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday.
Columbia University received approximately $1.3 billion in federal grants during the 2024 fiscal year, accounting for about 20 percent of its operating budget, as reported by the Columbia Daily Spectator.
Calls for the Trump administration to cut federal funding to Columbia and Barnard College intensified after the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter organized an unauthorized protest in an academic building last week.
The demonstration, which lasted for several hours on Wednesday night, disrupted access to classes in Milbank Hall and left at least one employee injured.
Jewish students took to social media to express their concerns about the sit-in at Barnard, stating that the protest made them feel unsafe as security guards attempted to control the situation.
Columbia University sought to distance itself from the incident, emphasizing that Barnard College bore responsibility for handling the matter. “Columbia is not responsible for security on Barnard’s campus,” the university’s statement read. “The disruption that is taking place at Barnard’s Milbank Hall is not on Columbia’s campus, and Barnard’s leadership and security team are addressing the current situation. We are committed to supporting our Columbia student body and our campus community during this challenging time.”
Columbia previously suspended SJP in November 2023 following unauthorized protests that left others feeling threatened. The suspension was upheld by the New York State Supreme Court last fall, yet the group continues to operate.
Trump’s actions align with his executive order directing federal agencies to take action against “pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation” and investigate elite American universities that allow antisemitic acts.
In line with this order, the Justice Department formed a task force to examine campus antisemitism since October 7, 2023. The task force recently announced plans to visit ten universities, including Columbia, to address the issue.
Additionally, Trump authorized the deportation of Hamas sympathizers and the revocation of student visas for those engaged in anti-Israel protests.
“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” Trump declared. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
