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Judge blocks deportations
A U.S. federal judge in California ruled Friday that the Trump administration violated the constitutional rights of international students by revoking their visas and attempting to deport them for opposing 'Israel's' ongoing military aggression in Gaza.
““Stated plainly, in the United States, freedom of speech belongs to the people””
In a 90-page decision issued Friday in California, U.S. District Judge Noel Wise criticized the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for retaliating against noncitizens over protected political speech, and she wrote, “Stated plainly, in the United States, freedom of speech belongs to the people.”
The ruling stemmed from executive actions initiated in March 2025, when the Trump administration began revoking student visas and detaining foreign scholars involved in pro-Palestinian advocacy across U.S. university campuses.
The crackdown intensified after the arrest and attempted deportation of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, described as a key negotiator for student groups protesting against the 'Israeli' assault on Gaza.
Khalil welcomed the ruling on social media, writing, “No one should fear speaking up for Palestine.”
Competing framings and voices
The Hill reported that Wise found the Trump administration’s use of existing immigration law to cancel foreign students’ visas and deport them violated their constitutional right to free speech, and it quoted her writing, “It is evidence of its strength.”
In the same case, Reuters said Wise ruled that laws used by President Donald Trump’s administration to cancel visas and initiate deportation proceedings against noncitizen college students based on pro-Palestinian advocacy and criticism of Israel are unconstitutional.
The Hill tied the lawsuit to The Stanford Daily, saying the paper claimed some writers on student visas declined to cover pro-Palestinian protests or report on topics related to Israel’s military action in Gaza for fear they would face deportation.
Reuters described Wise’s focus on how the Trump administration, from March 2025, began revoking visas and detaining noncitizens who engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy on campus, starting with the arrest of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil.
The Hill also quoted George Porteous, editor-in-chief of The Stanford Daily, saying, “The reporters in our newsroom shouldn’t have to fear that writing a story will result in their deportation.”
What’s at stake next
The ruling directly challenges the government’s ability to use immigration enforcement against foreign students based on their political expression, and it warned that the “targets may include anyone in the United States who exercises their freedom of speech to simply express opinions the government does not like.”
“the “targets may include anyone in the United States who exercises their freedom of speech to simply express opinions the government does not like.””
Reuters said Wise expressed concern the administration had moved on to target people for expressing other types of views it disfavored, framing the decision as part of a broader legal fight over deportation efforts tied to campus activism.
The Hill reported that the lawsuit challenged two provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that Secretary of State Marco Rubio used to justify seeking deportations, including a provision allowing deportation if the secretary “personally determines” the speech “compromises a compelling foreign policy interest.”
The Hill also said Wise sided with the student paper and found the Trump administration violated students’ First and Fifth Amendments when it relied on those two provisions of the INA to use their speech as a basis for deportation.
In a separate but related development, Reuters noted that the ruling was similar to a decision last year by Boston-based U.S. District Judge William Young, who found the administration acted unconstitutionally by adopting a policy of revoking visas, arresting, detaining and deporting foreign students and faculty engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy.