Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Birmingham, brought both support for and concerns about a bill penalizing nonimmigrant visa-holders for supporting terrorist activities on campus. He is shown here at a Jan. 31 subcommittee meeting. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
A bill to penalize nonimmigrant visa-holding students, staff and faculty at public and private universities for “certain expressions of terrorist activities or organizations” will move to the House Higher Education Committee for further discussion.
The measure advanced from an Iowa House subcommittee Tuesday despite questions from two of the three lawmakers on the panel.
Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Birmingham said during the meeting he appreciates the direction of the bill but he has questions about how it would apply in “real life” and in what is actually being seen on Iowa campuses.
“I think Republican loyalty compels me to sign on now,” Shipley said. “I appreciate where the bill sponsors came from, I want to keep the discussion alive and I want more people to input … but I think we can do both simultaneously.”
Shipley was joined on the subcommittee by Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames and chair Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake.
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House File 115 would have Iowa Board of Regents-governed universities and private colleges in the Iowa Tuition Grant program create policies barring campus community members with a nonimmigrant visa from publicly supporting terrorist organizations or actions, with some exceptions. Penalties would include suspension, expulsion and job termination.
They would also be prohibited from encouraging others to express their support for terrorist activity “related to an ongoing conflict,” according to the bill, or terrorist organizations “unless it is the policy or practice of the United States to support such activity or organization.” The definitions of terrorist activity and organizations follow U.S. code, according to the bill.
If the university conducts an investigation and finds someone to be in their first violation of this policy, the bill states students should be suspended and faculty and staff members’ employment should be terminated for at least one year. If found to have violated the policy for a second time, students would be suspended and employees fired permanently.
According to the legislation, universities should, immediately after expelling or terminating the employment of someone who has violated the policy, update their records with the Department of Homeland Security to show they are no longer connected to the university. The alleged offender would also be unable to transfer or be hired at another state university or Iowa private college.
Private universities found in violation of this policy would become ineligible to receive Iowa Tuition Grant dollars.
Jillian Carlson, a state relations officer for the Iowa Board of Regents, said the board is registered “undecided” on the bill, and would like to see the bill’s focus narrowed from incurring penalties for persuading others to show support for terrorist activities “at any time or place,” according to the bill, to only instances on campus or when using campus resources.
Gov. Kim Reynolds said in May 2024 the state would not tolerate campus protests that go “too far,” referring to pro-Palestine protests that took place in the spring across the U.S. and in Iowa. At the time, Rep. Carter Nordman, R-Panora, said “unlawful pro-Hamas acts” are “unacceptable,” and anyone found to violate the law or university policy should face immediate consequences.
Shipley said he believes this bill would address a real problem on college campuses, but he’d like to see a clear definition of terrorism and how it would apply to people’s language added to the legislation. The Legislature should make it transparent what counts as unlawful language and what the consequences of expressing that language are.
The language in the bill that states staff cannot persuade others to “support a terrorist organization unless it is the policy or practice of the United States to support such activity or organization” could be seen as revealing a political bias in the legislation, Shipley said.
“I think that does reveal the kind of political bias or hypocrisy that a left-wing person could accurately say, ‘Oh, this is, you know, American imperial hubris that we’re supposed to support terrorist organizations around the world if they’re furthering our geopolitical ends,” Shipley said.
Wilburn joined Shipley in having questions on the bill’s language and what exactly it prohibits, though he said during the meeting he would not support its moving ahead as it’s not ready for “prime time.”
With the goal of the new higher education committee to enact a review of higher education in Iowa, Wilburn said there is no rush to get this bill, which presents a specific action being taken by the Legislature, moved ahead.
“There’s no hurry on this, and … when I say there’s no hurry, again, if someone is inciting a riot and citing threats to our country or citizens or visitors who are in our country, they’d contact law enforcement,” Wilburn said.
Wills said he is interested in taking a look at the amendment mentioned by Carlson, but he didn’t guarantee it would be brought forward for adoption. With its passage, the bill will move to the higher education committee.
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