Three Florida Cabinet members would support revocation by the U.S. Department of State of visas held by legal immigrants who celebrate the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Attorney General James Uthmeier argue admission into the United States is a “privilege” that shouldn’t be extended to immigrants who praise Kirk’s murder, Ingoglia and an Uthmeier aide told The Florida Phoenix. This comes one day after the State Department warned immigrants against mocking or praising 31-year-old Kirk’s death.
“Immigrants get visas, among other reasons, because the U.S. has First Amendment freedoms they don’t have in their own countries. If they’re caught celebrating the assassination of someone expressing free speech, they obviously haven’t learned the lesson,” Ingoglia, who sponsored stringent anti-illegal immigration legislation as a state senator, said in a text message.
“Send them home.”
Uthmeier’s communications director, Jeremy Redfern, said the attorney general’s office would “absolutely” support revoking these individuals’ visas and denying future entry to migrants who praised Kirk’s murder.
“Getting a visa to come into the U.S. is a privilege, not a right,” Redfern said.
After this story was published, Agriculture commissioner Wilton Simpson added that he makes “three members” of the Florida Cabinet to support visa revocation. Kiersten Pels, the GOP’s national press secretary, told the Phoenix after publication that immigrants mocking the assassination of a “devoted patriot” should be deported.
“The Trump administration is absolutely correct to look at revoking the visas of anyone who shows such a blatant disregard for American lives,” Pels said.
The Department of State directed staff Thursday to “undertake appropriate action” for immigrants who “glorify” Kirk’s death. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau added that these individuals “are not welcome visitors to our country.”
A State Department spokesperson told the Phoenix via email that the Trump administration doesn’t think visas should be granted to “persons whose presence in our country does not align” with national security interests.
It wouldn’t be the first time the Trump administration has authorized visa cancellation, revocation, or withholding from current or prospective U.S. immigrants. In March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the use of artificial intelligence to identify foreign-born pro-Palestine protesters and revoke their student visas.
The move was aligned with President Donald Trump’s January executive order targeting visa holders who “threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology.” It also aligns with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ call for the federal government to deport foreign-born students who he said were setting up university encampments to protest Israel.
The governor’s office declined to comment for this story. State Sen. Jason Pizzo, an independent who formerly served as the Senate’s Minority Leader, told the Phoenix that although an immigration attorney could be more clear about the legalities of mass visa revocation, national security and public safety is cause for removal.
“Anyone here on a visa, celebrating the assassination of an American citizen, should be swiftly revoked and removed,” Pizzo said.
Honors planned
Kirk, co-founder of the conservative Turning Point USA, was shot and killed in Orem, Utah, Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University. While highly controversial, Kirk was a massively influential figure on the right who gained popularity by traveling to college campuses to debate students on left-leaning issues.
He’d forged close relationships with President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, who canceled his scheduled 9/11 memorial appearance in New York to instead visit Kirk’s wife and two children. Trump has announced that Kirk will posthumously receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, has urged Congress to build a statue of Kirk in the Capitol halls.
–Liva Caputo, Florida Phoenix
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