US lawmakers introduce ‘thought police’ bill to strip citizens of passports over Israel criticism

 

 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked visas and green cards of foreign nationals for opposing Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza

 

News Desk SEP 13, 2025

 

A US congressman is introducing a bill that could potentially be used to deny US citizens the right to travel based solely on their speech, including for criticism of Israel, the Intercept reported on 13 September.

 

Introduced by Florida Congressman Brian Mast, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the bill would grant Secretary of State Marco Rubio the power to revoke the passports of US citizens in the same way he has revoked the green cards and visas of foreign nationals in the US for criticizing Israel.

 

In March, Secretary of State Rubio revoked the visa of Turkish doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk after she wrote an opinion piece critical of Israel in the Tufts University student newspaper in 2024.

 

The op-ed did not mention Hamas, but called for boycotting and divesting from Israel.

 

One section of the bill grants the Secretary of State the ability to deny passports to people determined to have “knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise provided material support to an organization the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.”

 

The reference to “material support” disturbs civil liberties advocates because it is vague and can be interpreted to include speech and anti-war activism.

https://thecradle.co/articles-id/33135