[marcosdumay]

Restricting the protest rights of non-citizens is an extremely heavy-handed policy.

Yes, I know it's widespread, but it should really apply to non-residents. People that live and work in a country should have the right to protest.

[WalterBright]

They have a right to protest. They don't have a right to a visa. The State Department has broad authority to revoke visas.

[marcosdumay]

Democratic governments don't have the right to do things just because they want.

It's part of what makes it a democracy.

[guywithahat]

And in this case, the people gave the state department broad authority to remove people on visas. Why would you want someone to travel to this country to protest? Would we want Putin sending people over to protest against our involvement in the Ukraine war? Would you want China sending over protesters to reduce tariffs?

A core of democracy is a finite pool of voters, and infinite immigration and foreign protests are a direct threat to our democracy in a way that removing someone on visa isn't.