The unions claim that the US government is using a ‘vast surveillance apparatus’ to monitor the social media activity of noncitizens lawfully in the country and suppress dissent.
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Three major labor unions are suing the Trump administration for “using the threat of immigration enforcement to suppress dissent” by combing through social media posts looking for content they deem objectionable and publicly threatening “to surveil and punish lawfully present noncitizens for speech documented online.”
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), Communications Workers of America (CWA), and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) allege that US agencies are “deploying a vast surveillance apparatus” to find people criticizing the Trump administration and its allies online, “with a particular focus on US-based visa holders and Lawful Permanent Residents with university affiliations.”
The State Department announced in June that it would be reviewing the “online presence” of students applying for visa categories F, M, and J as part of the screening and vetting process. More recently, the agency revoked the visas of six foreign nationals over comments they made on social media about the death of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk.
“The United States is under no obligation to allow foreign aliens to come to our country, commit acts of anti-American, pro-terrorist, and antisemitic hate, or incite violence”, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott tweeted in response.
