by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
(Worthy News) – A federal judge in California ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot use immigration law to revoke visas or pursue deportation against lawfully present noncitizens solely over protected political speech, handing a legal setback to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s effort to remove foreign students accused of anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian activism.
U.S. District Judge Noël Wise found that challenged provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as applied to protected speech, violated the First and Fifth Amendments. The case was brought by The Stanford Daily and a noncitizen student, who argued that the administration’s policy chilled student reporting and expression on Middle East-related issues.
Wise wrote that “freedom of speech belongs to the people” and is “not the government’s to take,” while also acknowledging that the federal government has broad authority over immigration and foreign policy. The ruling does not eliminate the government’s power to enforce immigration law, but it limits the use of visa revocation or deportation as punishment for constitutionally protected speech.
The decision comes amid a broader national debate over campus protests, antisemitism, foreign student visas, and whether noncitizens lawfully present in the United States receive the same core free-speech protections as citizens. The Justice Department did not immediately comment on whether it would appeal.
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