The U.S. government is now threatening to revoke visas and deny entry to foreign citizens simply because of what they’ve said about the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

This is not about safety or national security—it’s about punishing people for their political views.

According to a report by The New York Times, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior State Department officials are using public comments—even jokes or criticism of Kirk’s ideology—as justification to bar people from visiting, studying, or working in the United States. 

This is a dangerous precedent.

Targeting individuals for political speech—no matter how distasteful—goes against the core values the U.S. claims to represent: freedom of expression, open political discourse, and due process. Instead, we’re witnessing the rise of an ideological loyalty test for anyone who wants to cross the border.

What happens when speech about other political figures is targeted? Or when social media posts become grounds for deportation?

We, the undersigned, call on:

The U.S. State Department,
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and
members of Congress

to immediately drop this policy from the start and publicly commit to upholding free expression as a principle—not just for Americans, but for anyone seeking to visit the United States.

Immigration policy should be based on safety, not speech. We must not allow censorship to become the price of entry.