Whatever Happened to America?
Welcome to President Trump’s “golden age.” “Land of the free” no more. As to the “home of the brave,” that remains to be seen.
If you speak out against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, you will be labeled as a “Hamas supporter,” and therefore presumed to be a potential terrorist and dealt with accordingly. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made this perfectly clear:
I'm glad you asked this question. When you come to the United States as a visitor, which is what a Visa is… you are here as a visitor. We can deny you that Visa. We can deny you that, if you tell us when you apply: “Hi, I'm trying to get into the United States on a student visa. I am a big supporter of Hamas, a murderous, barbaric group that kidnaps children, that rapes teenage girls, that takes, hostages, that allows them to die in captivity, that returns more bodies than live hostages. If you tell us that you are in favor of a group like this, and if you tell us when you apply for your visa, and by the way, I intend to come to your country as a student, and rile up all kinds of anti-Jewish student, anti-Semitic activities, I intend to shut down your universities. If you told us all these things when you applied for a visa, we would deny your visa (I hope we would), if you actually end up doing that once you're in this country on such a visa. We will revoke it, and if you end up having a green card, not citizenship, but a green card, as a result of that visa, while you're here, in those activities, we're going to kick you out. It's as simple as that. This is not about free speech. This is about people that don't have a right to be in the United States to begin with. No one has a right to a student visa. No one has a right to a green card, by the way. So, when you apply for a student visa, or any visa, to enter the United States, we have a right to deny you, for virtually any reason. But I think being a supporter of Hamas and coming into our universities and turning them upside down and being complicit, and what are clearly crimes of vandalization, complicit in shutting down learning institutions. There are kids at these schools that can't go to class. You pay all this money to these high-priced schools that are supposed to be of great esteem, and you can't even go to class. You're afraid to go to class, because these lunatics are running around with covers on their face, screaming, terrifying things. If you told us that's what you intended to do when you came to America, we would have never let you in, and if you do it once you get in, we're going to revoke it and kick you out.
Notice how Rubio fluidly repeats the various Israeli talking points, so deeply is “Israelism” ingrained in the United States now, so that to show support for Palestine is now equivalent to aiding and abetting terrorism.
This is what Prime Minister Netanyahu said recently at the Ambassadors of Truth Conference, held in Israel on March 27, 2025:
Yet as we win the war against the forces of antisemitism in the Middle East, the fires of antisemitism rage in the heart of Western civilization. They rage in Europe’s capitals, in the Western press, in social media. They rage in America’s elite universities. I went to one of them. I can't believe that in Boston, in Cambridge, in MIT where I went to school, and nearby Harvard, in Columbia in New York and elsewhere, people are demonstrating with passion, these ignorant demonstrators. Who are they demonstrating for? For these murderers, these rapists, these mass killers. This is a reflection of a deep rot that has pervaded the intellectual hub of free societies. And this vilification of Israel, the Jewish people and Western values has been propagated by a systemic alliance between the ultraprogressive Left and radical Islam. It must be resolutely fought by civilized societies to safeguard their future.
Netanyahu excoriates the Left, but he fails to mention that this conference was attended by what is commonly called the European "far right." It has long been known that the right and conservatives are thoroughly Zionist. And the crimes that he mentions are of course those being committed by his own armed forces.
So, dutifully in America, come a series of rather sensational arrests, with ICE agents in masks, the target at the moment is the most vulnerable sector—foreign students who publicly show sympathy for Palestine and speak out against the genocide. No doubt these arrests will expand to include other such critics. This is how you root out "antisemitism," which now means standing against the genocide of Palestinians.
Mahmoud Khalil: A Palestinian who was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 8, 2025, from his apartment building in Columbia University housing in New York City. The arrest occurred despite Khalil holding a green card for permanent residency in the United States. He is currently detained at the LaSalle Detention Center in Jena, Louisiana.
Rumeysa Ozturk: A Turkish national and PhD candidate at Tufts University in Massachusetts. She was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 26, 2025, while walking to an Iftar dinner to break her Ramadan fast. The arrest was carried out by six plainclothes officers who did not initially display their identification, sparking public concern and criticism. Ozturk holds a valid F-1 student visa and has been studying in the U.S. since 2018, having previously completed her master's degree at Columbia University on a Fulbright scholarship. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims that she engaged in activities supporting Hamas, a group classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. However, no specific evidence of such activities has been provided.
Badar Khan Suri: An Indian interdisciplinary scholar with interests in religion, violence and peace, and ethnic conflicts and peace processes in the Middle East and South Asia. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. Suri was arrested by masked federal agents on March 17 while returning to his home in Rosslyn, Virginia, after attending an iftar gathering for Ramadan. He was detained and told that the federal government had revoked his visa. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Suri was arrested for spreading "Hamas propaganda" and having connections to a senior advisor of Hamas. His lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, disputed these claims.
Ranjani Srinivasan: An Indian PhD candidate in Urban Planning at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). In March 2025, her student visa was unexpectedly revoked by the US Consulate in Chennai. This action was reportedly linked to her participation in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, which drew significant media attention and political backlash. Following the revocation, she was labeled a "terrorist sympathizer" by US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, leading to heightened fears for her safety. Despite assurances from Columbia's International Students and Scholars Office that her student status remained valid, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrived at her apartment, prompting her to flee to Canada out of fear for her safety and potential detention.
Momodou Taal: A British-Gambian PhD candidate at Cornell University, who is currently facing deportation due to his involvement in pro-Palestinian activism. Taal's activism intensified following the outbreak of conflict in Gaza, culminating in his participation in protests on campus. In October 2023, he publicly supported resistance efforts against Israeli actions, which led to multiple suspensions from Cornell for allegedly creating a "hostile environment" and participating in disruptive demonstrations. The U.S. government subsequently revoked his student visa, citing these protests as justification for deportation. Taal has filed legal challenges against executive orders from the Trump administration that target dissent among students involved in pro-Palestinian movements.
Alireza Doroudi: A 32-year-old Iranian doctoral student at the University of Alabama, pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. He was arrested by ICE at his residence. The detention occurred despite his attorney's assertion that he was legally residing in the U.S. and had not been involved in any anti-government protests or criminal activities. The Department of Homeland Security stated that Doroudi posed "significant national security concerns," though no specific details were provided, and no federal charges have been filed against him.
Doroudi is currently being held in a county jail, awaiting transfer to an immigration facility.
Yunseo Chung: A Columbia University junior and permanent resident of the United States, was arrested by the NYPD on March 5, 2025, during a pro-Palestinian protest at Barnard College. The protest was sparked by disciplinary actions taken against students involved in earlier demonstrations. Chung was charged with obstructing governmental administration and issued a desk appearance ticket. Following her arrest, ICE sought to detain and deport her, citing her involvement in the protest as "concerning conduct." However, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on March 26, 2025, preventing ICE from detaining Chung while she contests her deportation. Chung's lawsuit against the Trump administration argues that the government's actions are an unjustifiable assault on her First Amendment rights, targeting her for her political speech. Despite the legal challenges, Chung remains at risk of deportation under immigration statutes.
Rasha Alawieh: A Lebanese transplant nephrologist was deported from the United States to Lebanon in March 2025. Alawieh held a H-1B visa, which allowed her to work as an assistant professor at Brown University. She was etained at Boston Logan International Airport upon returning from a visit to Lebanon. Federal authorities found photos and videos of Hezbollah leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah, on her phone. She explained these were for religious reasons, as she is a Shia Muslim. However, this led to concerns about her intentions in the U.S. Despite having a valid H-1B visa and a court order temporarily blocking her deportation, Alawieh was deported. A federal judge later determined that Customs and Border Protection did not intentionally breach his ruling, as Alawieh had already been deported by the time the order was received.
Rubio has said that he has revoked more than 300 student visas so far.
At the present, Trump’s focus is on bringing American universities to heel, and he is undertaking harsh measures to have a chilling effect on institutions of higher learning. The attempt here is to make sure that universities do not diverge from what he says America must be—a blind and fervent supporter of Israel’s genocide. Bear in mind, he wants Gaza for his very own.
It has long been a MAGA trope to decry higher education as “indoctrination” into being “woke.” This perceived "woke" agenda in education significantly influences the MAGA movement's stance on higher education and education policy in several ways.
Thus, MAGA supporters view diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as part of a broader "woke" agenda that they believe prioritizes identity politics over free speech and traditional values. They argue that these programs promote a radical ideology that undermines conservative perspectives and values.
The MAGA movement strongly opposes critical race theory, which they see as a form of "left-wing indoctrination" that emphasizes systemic racism. They argue that such theories are divisive and should not be taught in schools.
MAGA supporters often criticize policies that allow transgender students to participate in sports or use bathrooms aligned with their gender identity. They view these policies as part of a "radical gender ideology" that contradicts traditional values and parental rights.
The MAGA movement advocates for increased parental control over education, arguing that parents should have the right to choose what their children learn and where they attend school. This includes support for homeschooling and vouchers for private schools, which they see as alternatives to what they perceive as "woke" public education.
MAGA supporters often see the Department of Education as a symbol of federal overreach and bureaucratic inefficiency. They argue that education should be controlled at the local level, free from what they perceive as liberal federal influence.
The MAGA movement views education as a key battleground in the broader cultural war against liberal ideologies. By opposing "woke" policies, they aim to reclaim educational institutions from perceived liberal dominance.
Needless to say, MAGA has no clue what to do about the real issue—that morality cannot be controlled or taught by the government. As with everything else in America, MAGA looks to politics for a quick solution to a very deep-rooted problem—that contemporary American society has no interest in Christian morality anymore and will never practice it individually. Why should it? Their government certainly does not, as it mercilessly kills thousands abroad. To think that magically Trump will make America moral again is simply lunacy.
But into this discontentment, Zionism has very easily inserted itself (thanks to Christian Zionists), whereby Israel can present itself as “biblical,’ and therefore worthy of MAGA support; and, thus, whoever opposes Israel, opposes God. This “bible-ization” of the state of Israel more easily fuels MAGA’s innate Islamophobia: Only Israel knows how to control Islam, because if Islam is not controlled, it will take over the West, and make us all live like dhimmis and pay the jizya; so, we need Israel to keep the Muslims in check.
However, there are two versions of Islam in America, which allow for a response to the charge of Islamophobia.
The first version, the Islam to be feared and thus controlled, is the one which opposes Israel. This Islam is “terrorism,” and which Rubio wants to kick out of the United States by revoking visas (for now).
There is a second type of Islam officially approved by Israel, represented by the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia. This second, Israel-approved, Islam is to be celebrated.
Accordingly, Trump is targeting various foreign students at American universities who are said to be part of, or support, the non-Israel-approved Islam.
More importantly, the Israeli Zionists have long associated wokeism with the support of “terrorism”—because it is among the so-called “woke” that the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is the strongest. And BDS has long been called "antisemitic" by Israel. This is why anti-wokeism is so heavily nurtured and promoted in MAGA and among conservatives at large. Because to fight wokeism is to be pro-Israel.
The real message for everyone: It is now a crime to criticize Israel. Behave, or else. It would be simplistic to call this "fascism." Rather, what we are witnessing is the rewriting of America as a Zionist state, in which only a certain type of citizen will be allowed to live. It is Israeli apartheid, American-style.
This is the new America, where cancel culture now wears a MAGA hat. And Trump just got started.