Universities that enable protest encampments would lose funding under proposed law

New legislation aims to penalize college campuses that enable protest encampments, which were a widespread phenomenon last year as a means of protesting the war between Israel and Hamas.

The “No Tax Dollars for Colleges Encampments Act,” sponsored by Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., would stop federal taxpayer dollars from going to schools that do not properly share policies about how they handle cases of “civil disturbance” by changing the Higher Education Act of 1965.

“Many of our ‘elite’ academic institutions have become hotbeds for antisemitism and pro-terror ideologies,” Banks said in a statement.

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Anti-Israel agitators staged encampments on Columbia University’s campus. (Getty Images)

“My bill holds these universities accountable and prevents American tax dollars from being wasted on institutions that act as safe havens for anti-American harassment and violence,” the senator added.

Banks’ bill is just one aspect of a broader crackdown on campuses, public or private, for how it handled protests that in many instances targeted Jewish students or made them feel unsafe on campuses.

The Trump White House scrapped $400 million in federal funding that went toward Columbia University, which gained nationwide attention for its encampment that proponents said was in support of Gaza. A key figure in those protests, Mahmoud Khalil, is currently being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as he was in the country under a student visa. President Donald Trump said in a post to Truth Social earlier this week it is “the first arrest of many to come.”

“Following my previously signed Executive Orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University,” Trump stated in the post about the student, which has since led to protests. 

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Rep. Jim Banks questions witnesses in a House hearing on Capitol Hill, Feb. 28, 2023. ( Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it. Many are not students, they are paid agitators. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education is now investigating 60 universities around the country for possible Title VI violations as it relates to antisemitism.

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Education Secretary McMahon and President Donald Trump (Getty Images)

“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement.

“U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege, and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws,” she continued.