incoming freshman class, resulting in widespread
self-censorship on social media and threatening
intellectual freedom,” said Carrie DeCell, a staff
attorney at Columbia University’s Knight First
Amendment Institute, which has sued the
administration to release more information about
the enhanced enforcement methods.
PEN America, a nonprofit that advocates for free
expression, called the incident “perverse.”
“Preventing people from entering the country
because their friends critiqued the U.S. on social
media shows an astounding disregard for the
principle of free speech,” said Summer Lopez, a
senior director.
A group that advocates for stricter immigration
laws, the Center for Immigration Studies, did not
respond to a message seeking comment. But
the Trump administration says the enhanced
searches are critical to prevent extremists from
entering the country.
The State Department in June expanded the
measures, requiring nearly all applicants for U.S.
visas to submit their social media usernames,
previous email addresses and phone numbers.
Under prior administrations, such information
was requested only of applicants identified for
extra scrutiny, such as people who had traveled
to areas controlled by terrorist organizations.
So far in fiscal year 2019, more than 235,000
people seeking entry into the country have been
deemed inadmissible, up about 9% from the
216,370 denied in all of fiscal 2017, according to
Customs and Border Protection data.
It’s not clear how many social media searches
border officials have conducted since the new
policy took effect. But the agency conducted
33,295 electronic device searches in fiscal year
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