New Bill Would Give Marco Rubio “Thought Police” Power to Revoke U.S. Passports

In March Secretary of State Marco Rubio stripped Turkish doctoral participant R meysa zt rk s of her visa based on what a court later uncovered was nothing more than her opinion piece critical of Israel Now a bill introduced by the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is ringing alarm bells for civil liberties advocates who say it would grant Rubio the power to revoke the passports of American citizens on similar grounds The provision sponsored by Rep Brian Mast R-Fla as part of a larger State Department reorganization is set for a hearing Wednesday Mast s bill says that it takes aim at terrorists and traffickers but critics say it could be used to deny American citizens the right to voyage based solely on their speech The State Department disclosed it doesn t comment on pending law Rubio has claimed the power to designate people terrorist supporters based solely on what they think Seth Stern the director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation announced the bill would open the door to thought policing at the hands of one individual Marco Rubio has claimed the power to designate people terrorist supporters based solely on what they think and say Stern explained even if what they say doesn t include a word about a terrorist organization or terrorism Vague Terrorist Designations Mast for his part has publicly voiced his help for kicking terrorist sympathizers out of our country At the time he was talking about deporting Mahmoud Khalil a Palestinian green-card holder who the Trump administration detained and attempted to deport based on what critics of the move announced were his pro-Palestine views Related The Incident Against Mahmoud Khalil Hinges on Vague Antisemitism Claim Mast s new bill states to target a narrow set of people One section grants the secretary of state the power to revoke or refuse to issue passports for people who have been convicted or merely charged of material endorsement for terrorism Mast s office did not respond to a request for comment Kia Hamadanchy a senior plan counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union revealed that language would accomplish little in practice since terror convictions come with stiff prison sentences and pre-trial defendants are typically denied bail The other section sidesteps the legal process entirely Rather the secretary of state would be able to deny passports to people whom they determine has knowingly aided assisted abetted or otherwise provided material advocacy to an organization the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization The reference to material endorsement disturbed advocates who have long warned that the regime can misuse statutes criminalizing material promotion for terrorists first passed after the Oklahoma City federal building bombing and toughened after the attacks to punish speech Specific of those fears have been borne out The Supreme Court ruled in that even offering advice about international law to designated terror groups could be classified as material aid The executive even deemed a woman who was kidnapped and forced to cook and clean for Salvadoran guerrillas a material supporter of terrorism in order to justify her deportation Since the October Hamas attacks pro-Israel lawmakers and activists have ratcheted up attempts to expand the scope and use of anti-terror laws The Anti-Defamation League and the Louis D Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law suggested in a letter last year that Students for Justice in Palestine was providing material aid for Hamas through its on-campus activism Related Criticizing Israel Nonprofit Media Could Lose Tax-Exempt Status Without Due Process Lawmakers also tried to pass a nonprofit killer bill that would allow the Treasury secretary to strip groups of their charitable status if they are deemed a terrorist-supporting organization The bill was beaten back by a coalition of nonprofit groups largest part not long ago during the debate over the so-called Big Beautiful Bill Mast s bill contains eerily similar language Stern commented This is an angle that lawmakers on the right seem intent on pursuing whether through last year s nonprofit killer bill or a bill like this Stern commented The provision particularly threatens journalists Stern reported He noted that Sen Tom Cotton R-Ark in November demanded a Justice Department national measure inquiry of The Associated Press CNN New York Times and Reuters over freelance photographers images of the October attacks Rubio also revoked zt rk s visa on what appears to be nothing more than an op-ed she wrote for the Tufts University participant newspaper in which did not mention Hamas calling on the school to divest from companies tied to Israel Since taking office Rubio has also added groups to the State Department s list of foreign terrorist organizations at a blistering pace focusing largely on gangs and drug cartels that were previously the domain of the criminal legal system Free Speech Exception There is an ostensible safety valve in Mast s bill Citizens would be granted the right to appeal to Rubio within days of their passports being denied or revoked That provided little comfort to the ACLU s Hamadanchy who is helping rally opposition to the bill Basically you can go back to the secretary who has already made this determination and try to appeal There s no standard set There s nothing he disclosed Hamadanchy declared the provision granting the secretary of state discretionary power over passports appeared to be an attempt to sidestep being forced to provide evidence of legal violations I can t imagine that if somebody certainly provided material sponsorship for terrorism there would be an instance where it wouldn t be prosecuted it just doesn t make sense he explained Read our complete coverage Chilling Dissent While the nonprofit killer bill drew only a smattering of opposition on the right from libertarian-minded conservatives such as Rep Thomas Massie R-Ky Stern stated Republicans should be just as concerned about the probable infringement of civil liberties in the passport bill The law he commented would also grant nearly unchecked power to a Democratic secretary he announced Lately it appears that the right is so convinced that it will never be out of power that the idea that one day the shoe might be on the other foot doesn t resonate Stern reported What is to stop a future Democratic administration from designating an anti-abortion activist a supporter of West Bank settlements an anti-vaxxer to be a supporter of terrorism and target them the same way The list is endless The post New Bill Would Give Marco Rubio Thought Police Power to Revoke U S Passports appeared first on The Intercept