Venkat Balasubramani (Begging to Differ) points to what appears to be a revocation of a visa based on an alien’s speech:
The US administration came under fire for barring prominent European Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan from entering the country to take a post at the renowned Notre Dame University.
Ramadan, rated by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, was granted a visa in May only to have it revoked on August 2 by the US State Department on the recommendation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). . . .
Russ Knocke, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman, told Reuters on Tuesday, that the work visa was taken back because of a section in federal law applying to aliens who have used a “position of prominence within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity.” . . .
(I say “appears” because the article is clearly an opinion piece, not an objective news account — note the reference to “the Board of Deputies of British Jews [launching] a vile campaign against prominent moderate Muslim scholar Youssef Qaradawi’s visit” — but I’ll assume that the account is complete and accurate for purposes of this post.) Balasubramani calls this “a good example of Patriot Act abuse” (because “The Patriot Act added the following clause which provides an additional ground of inadmissibility with respect to an alien who . . .’has used the alien’s position of prominence within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity, or to persuade others to support terrorist activity or a terrorist organization, in a way that the Secretary of State has determined undermines United States efforts to reduce or eliminate terrorist activities'”); he also says that “[i]t’s definitely not a no-brainer as to whether this passes First Amendment scrutiny,” though in an update he suggests that “the case may be a bit less strong, and maybe because of the standing issue,” and may present only an as-applied challenge.
But as a doctrinal matter, this is a “no brainer” in favor of the government; there’s a 1972 Supreme Court case, Kleindienst v. Mandel that’s quite squarely on point:
It is clear that Mandel [a self-described “revolutionary Marxist” foreign academic] personally, as an unadmitted and nonresident alien, had no constitutional right of entry to this country as a nonimmigrant or otherwise. . . . The case, therefore, comes down to the narrow issue whether the First Amendment confers upon the appellee professors, because they wish to hear, speak, and debate with Mandel in person, the ability to determine that Mandel should be permitted to enter the country or, in other words, to compel the Attorney General to allow Mandel’s admission. . . .
Recognition that First Amendment rights are implicated, however, is not dispositive of our inquiry here. In accord with ancient principles of the international law of nation-states, the Court . . . [has] held broadly . . . that the power to exclude aliens is “inherent in sovereignty, necessary for maintaining normal international relations and defending the country against foreign encroachments and dangers – a power to be exercised exclusively by the political branches of government . . . .” . . . The Court without exception has sustained Congress’ “plenary power to make rules for the admission of aliens and to exclude those who possess those characteristics which Congress has forbidden.” . . .
In summary, plenary congressional power to make policies and rules for exclusion of aliens has long been firmly established. In the case of an alien excludable under [sec.] 212(a)(28), Congress has delegated conditional exercise of this power to the Executive. We hold that when the Executive exercises this power negatively on the basis of a facially legitimate and bona fide reason, the courts will neither look behind the exercise of that discretion, nor test it by balancing its justification against the First Amendment interests of those who seek personal communication with the applicant. . . .
One can debate whether the Court got it right in Kleindienst; I think it did, but that is a story for another day. One can also debate whether it’s a good idea for Congress and the Executive Branch to exclude such aliens — though note that the Patriot Act is not an innovation in this respect. But as a matter of existing First Amendment doctrine, the government has a clear winner of a case here (again, even if the press account that Balasubramani quotes is entirely accurate).
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