Marco Rubio outlined his position on U.S. visa policy, stating that individuals who express support for Hamas or engage in disruptive activity on college campuses could be denied entry or removed from the country.

Rubio emphasized that visas are issued on a conditional basis and that applicants must meet standards set by U.S. authorities.

“When you come to the United States as a visitor, which is what a visa is, which is how this individual entered this country on a visitor's visa,” Rubio said.

He added, “You are here as a visitor. We can deny you that visa.”

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He described how applicants’ stated intentions could affect their eligibility.

“We can deny you that if you tell us when you apply,” Rubio said.

He continued, “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.”

Rubio said such declarations would result in denial.

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“If you tell us that you are in favor of a group like this,” he said.

He added, “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.”

Rubio said, “If you told us all these things when you applied for a visa, we would deny your visa. I hope we would.”

He also addressed actions taken after entry into the country.

“If you actually end up doing that, once you're in this country on such a visa, we will revoke it,” Rubio said.

He added, “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.”

Rubio said the issue is not related to protected speech but to eligibility for entry and continued presence in the United States.

“This is not about free speech,” he said.

“This is about people that don't have a right to be in the United States to begin with.”

He stressed that visas and green cards are not guaranteed.

“No one has a right to a student visa,” Rubio said.

He continued, “No one has a right to a green card, by the way.”

He added that the federal government has broad authority over admissions.

“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,” Rubio said.

Rubio also pointed to incidents on college campuses as part of his argument.

“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,” he said.

He added, “Complicit in shutting down learning institutions.”

He described the impact on students. “There are kids at these schools that can't go to class,” Rubio said.

He continued, “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.”

He added, “You're afraid to go to class because these lunatics are running around with covers on their face screaming, terrifying things.”

Rubio concluded by reiterating his position on enforcement. “If you told us that's what you intended to do when you came to America, we would have never let you in,” he said.

He added, “And if you and if you do it, once you get in, we're going to revoke it and kick you out.”

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