MIT Says Many Israel-Palestine Campus Protesters Are Not US Citizens

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has acknowledged students involved in a pro-Palestine demonstration and a counterprotest by Israel supporters that led to the shutdown of one of the campus' main lobbies last week are not U.S. citizens.

The prestigious engineering school had initially warned the many students who did not disperse they would be subject to suspension from the university in Cambridge, Mass.

But MIT President Sally Kornbluth later told the campus community in a letter last week that officials have, for now, held off on following through with that punishment, citing "serious concerns about collateral consequences for the students, such as visa issues."

Kornbluth said administrators have instead opted to place students who stayed in the lobby past the deadline on non-academic suspension while the school reviews the matter.

"The students will remain enrolled at MIT and will be able to attend academic classes and labs," Kornbluth wrote.

The revelation that students involved in protests at MIT surrounding the Israel-Hamas war are not American citizens comes amid speculation over the past month that the tense exchanges on the nation's college campuses have been fueled in part by international students.

According to MIT's website, 513, or 11%, of undergrads are international students while there are 2,952 international graduate students, or 42%, of the graduate program.

How schools should handle the protests has also been the subject of fierce debate, including among the Republicans running for their party's nomination for president.

Last month, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott argued international students who are "encouraging Jewish genocide" should be deported. (He dropped out of the race on Sunday).

"Those students should be expelled from the campus and those folks who are on visa should be taken – deported from our country,” Scott told Fox News.

On Friday, Columbia University suspended two student groups – Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace – over anti-Israel protests that included an unauthorized event with "threatening rhetoric and intimidation."

Thursday's original protest at MIT was organized by the student organization Coalition Against Apartheid (CAA), which was demanding that MIT withdraw its funding for research "that supports Israeli apartheid and the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people."

The demonstrators and pro-Israel counterprotestors were told to leave the campus' Lobby 7 after over four hours or else face suspension.

Despite the administration's warning, the coalition said it would remain in the lobby for another four hours, until 8 p.m.

Video of the protest posted on Instagram by the CAA shows how authorities blocked doors in the lobby, preventing people from entering and leaving.

The demonstration prompted the MIT Israel Alliance to write a letter slamming the school's administrators, alleging they remained silent as the rally blocked Jewish and Israeli students from attending class.

"Today’s protest — which became disruptive, loud and sustained through the morning hours — was organized and conducted in defiance of … MIT guidelines and policies," Kornbluth wrote in her letter. "Some students from both the protest and counterprotest may have violated other MIT policies, as well.

"Note that MIT has also received additional complaints about conduct by individual protesters and counter protesters, and will be following up on those promptly," Kornbluth added.