Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) ripped the Democrat Party this week for their outpouring of support for pro-Hamas activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested by federal authorities this week and is awaiting deportation.
Cruz made the remarks on his “Verdict” podcast with co-host Ben Ferguson while talking about the legality of the Trump administration’s move to kick Khalil out of the country.
“Let me be clear, under U.S. law, American citizens are protected by the First Amendment, foreigners are not,” Cruz said. “A visa to come to this country as a student, that is a permissive decision, and you do not have a right if you are a guest to this country to actively undermine America. Let me be clear to anyone: if you hate America, if you want to undermine America, do not come to this country.”
Cruz said that he believes there will be more pro-Hamas protesters arrested and deported.
“And what I’ve said from the beginning, if you are threatening other students, if you are attacking America, if you are embracing terrorists and you’re a foreign student, you should be expelled and you should be deported,” he said.
He then trained his fire on the Democrat Party, saying that those in the political system who align themselves with pro-Hamas protesters are Democrats.
“They are the party of Hamas,” he said. “They are the party of the radicals. If you actually side with Israel, if you side with Jewish students, if you side with America, if you don’t like Hamas terrorists that want to kill us, well, it is amazing, the divide we have, and this is a simple, clear divide.”
American citizens are protected by the First Amendment.
Mahmoud Khalil is not a citizen. He is a guest in this country, and he has no right to actively undermine America or spread hate and violence here.
The Trump administration rightly arrested Mahmoud and is planning to… pic.twitter.com/l3rXPL9WS4
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 12, 2025
