Trump cannot deport students for criticizing Israel, judge rules

A federal judge in California has ruled that the Trump administration crossed a constitutional line by threatening noncitizens with deportation because of their political speech—particularly students and others who criticized Israel’s war in Gaza or expressed support for Palestinians.

The case was brought on behalf of The Stanford Daily, which argued that international students had become afraid to write, speak publicly, or even take certain reporting assignments because they feared their immigration status could be used against them.

Judge Noël Wise made the larger issue very clear: the First Amendment does not protect only speech the government agrees with. It exists precisely to protect speech that may be unpopular, offensive, politically inconvenient, or directly critical of our government and its foreign policy.

The judge found that the administration’s actions had created a very real chilling effect. Noncitizen students had reportedly quit the newspaper, withheld stories, asked that articles be removed, refused assignments, and requested anonymity because they feared immigration consequences.

The ruling also rejected the idea that immigration and foreign-policy authority give the government unlimited discretion. People must be able to understand what conduct is prohibited, and they cannot be left guessing whether criticizing a foreign government—or disagreeing with American foreign policy—might suddenly become grounds for deportation.