How Boulder Attack Could Boost Trump’s War on ‘Hostile Migration’

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has responded to the violent attack on an event in Boulder, Colorado, supporting Israeli hostages by saying: “Immigration security is national security. No more hostile migration.”

Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI via email for comment.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump has been working to shut down pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses and to enact sweeping immigration changes and deportations. A violent attack under the guise of a pro-Palestinian demonstration by a migrant who overstayed a visa has helped administration officials to promote anti-immigration goals.

Since taking office, Trump has reallocated law enforcement budgets toward his mass deportation measures, ended a database intended to keep track of terrorism suspects, and cut the FBI team in charge of combating domestic terrorism. Experts have warned that these cuts will lead to more attacks on U.S. soil.

What To Know

Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman has been charged with murder as the chief suspect in an explosives attack on June 1 in Boulder.

According to Miller, Soliman overstayed his tourist visa under the Biden administration and was then granted a work permit to remain in the U.S.

According to reports, he shouted “Free Palestine,” before throwing explosives into the group who were raising awareness around the hostages still being held in captivity in Gaza.

According to law enforcement, Soliman entered the “Run for Their Lives” event in Boulder on June 1 with a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails. Eight people between the ages of 52 and 88 were injured in the attack.

Organizers of the event have said: “Run for Their Lives is an apolitical global organization with the sole mission of walking peacefully to raise awareness for the 58 hostages still held in captivity by Hamas in Gaza.”

This is the second violent attack in the U.S. against the Jewish community within a month, as two Israeli embassy staffers were killed after a gunman opened fire on an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. in late May.

The suspect in that deadly shooting, Elias Rodriguez, also shouted “Free Palestine” as he was arrested.

Miller not only referred to Soliman’s immigration status as “hostile,” but in a separate X (formerly Twitter) post, said: “Suicidal migration must be fully reversed.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi also called the attack antisemitic, but has not referenced Soliman’s immigration status in her social media posts about the incident.

The Trump administration has been removing funding and international student visas from universities with prominent pro-Palestine protests on campus, accusing these colleges, including Harvard and Columbia, of inciting antisemitism by allowing students to protest the war in Gaza.

As part of its governmental cuts, the government has also removed money for projects directly fighting antisemitism, such as the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) program at the University of Maryland.

START used to receive funding from DHS, and worked to keep track of rising antisemitism in the U.S. Now, its dataset which provided critical insight into domestic terrorism, antisemitism, and other hate crimes, has been defunded.

START director, Michael Jensen, told The Guardian: “The impact of these cancellations on the terrorism research field, the development of the next generation of homeland security professionals, and, ultimately, public safety will be felt for years.”

What People Are Saying

White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Stephen Miller on X: “The Biden Admin granted the alien a visa and then, when he illegally overstayed, they gave him a work permit. Immigration security is national security. No more hostile migration. Keep them out and send them back.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi on X: “FBI agents are on the ground in Colorado following what appears to be a horrific antisemitic attack. My heart and my prayers are with the Jewish community. We will not tolerate this hatred and we will put the perpetrator of this violence behind bars.”

Heidi Beirich, co-founder of nonprofit watchdog the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, told The Guardian: “Without [counterterrorism] research, we won’t know the extent of the problems we face when it comes to domestic terrorism, nor how to mitigate them. And it will leave a huge hole in our knowledge base going forward—one that recent work and attention was trying to address. We will all suffer for the loss of this work.”

What Happens Next

Soliman is being held in Boulder County Jail on a $10-million bail.