Trump directs agencies to make reports on Israel-Palestine campus protest activities

On January 29, 2025, President Trump announced the Executive Order,  “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism,” which directs all federal departments and agencies to submit a report of all civil and criminal authorities that the respective department or agency can use to “curb or combat anti-Semitism.” The report must also contain a list of all pending administrative complaints and court cases against or involving institutions of higher education “alleging civil-rights violations related to or arising from post-October 7, 2023 campus anti-Semitism.” The Secretary of Education is specifically directed to include an inventory and analysis of all Title VI complaints and administrative complaints related to anti-Semitism within the Office of Civil Rights that were pending or resolved after October 7, 2023. These reports will likely include campus protest activities and arrests relating to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Lastly, the Executive Order requires the Departments of State, Education, and Homeland Security to make recommendations for familiarizing institutions of higher education with the national security-related grounds of inadmissibility for noncitizens. These reports might require or request that institutions of higher education “monitor and report” noncitizen students and staff activities “relevant to” the national security-related grounds of inadmissibility and “ensure” that the reports lead to investigations and deportation “if warranted.”