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The Gaza Solidarity Encampment on College Green lasted from April 25 to May 10, 2024.
Credit: Jean ParkPresident and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to identify and deport non-citizen participants — including college students — in pro-Palestinian protests on Wednesday.
The Jan. 29 action is aimed at addressing antisemitism on college campuses, according to a White House fact sheet. The action “directs additional measures to advance the policy thereof in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, against the people of Israel” and instructs the United States Department of Justice to report in the next 60 days all “criminal and civil authorities or actions” available to combat antisemitism, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“These attacks unleashed an unprecedented wave of vile anti-Semitic discrimination, vandalism, and violence against our citizens, especially in our schools and on our campuses,” the order read.
“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 said on the fact sheet for the order. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
A University spokesperson declined to comment. A request for comment was left with the White House.
The fact sheet promises “immediate action” and prosecution by the DOJ against all threats against American Jews and calls the full force of “all federal resources” to combat antisemitism on “campuses and streets,” specifically “anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities.”
In a statement responding to the new executive order, Chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) praised Trump for “keeping his promise to protect our students, hold schools accountable, fight campus antisemitism, and empower parents to be stewards of their children’s education.”
“This is a much-needed change from the previous administration, which put politics over students for the past four years,” Walberg continued. “We are finally putting our students first.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement on Wednesday calling the executive order “a dishonest, overbroad and unenforceable attack on both free speech and the humanity of Palestinians.”
“It’s time for President Trump to pursue an America First agenda, not an Israel First agenda,” the group wrote.
Wednesday’s order is an expansion of Executive Order 13899, titled “Combating Anti-Semitism,” which Trump signed during his first term in 2019.
The 2019 order states that “students, in particular, continue to face anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on university and college campuses.”
Penn was the center of numerous pro-Palestinian protests last year — which came to a head during the spring Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
On April 25, 2024, pro-Palestinian activists established an encampment on College Green which lasted for 16 days and was met by both support and criticism from the Penn community.
Penn Police in riot gear — accompanied by Philadelphia Police Department officers — disbanded the encampment 16 days later, making 33 arrests in the process, nine of whom were Penn students. That evening, protesters critical of the dismantlement marched across campus, with several demonstrators breaching the gate of Interim Penn President Larry Jameson’s on-campus residence.
One week later, pro-Palestinian activists attempted to occupy Fisher-Bennett Hall but were stopped by Penn and Philadelphia Police Department officers, who made 19 arrests — including seven Penn students.
To date, Penn’s disciplinary efforts against organizers involved in the encampment have included letters of notices, disciplinary hearings, witness interviews, and a documentation review. Cases opened through the Center for Community Standards and Accountability have also resulted in mandatory leaves of absence.
In a letter obtained by The Daily Pennsylvanian that was issued to one individual placed on a leave of absence, Vice Provost for University Life Karu Kozuma wrote that continued violations “may result in further disciplinary action.”
The University has also engaged in checking IDs in accordance with Penn’s Guidelines on Open Expression. The identification process could continue during Trump’s intended investigation into college campuses.
This action by the White House is the latest in a slew of executive orders from the Trump administration, many of which stretch the limits of the president’s executive power — and have faced challenges from federal courts.
The recent orders reflect Trump’s inaugural promise to reverse policies under the Biden administration and include a withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change and the World Health Organization. Trump has also issued executive orders that temporarily halt the admission of immigrants into the United States. His attempt to limit birthright citizenship was temporarily blocked by a federal judge as “blatantly unconstitutional.”
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