Trump officials targeted pro-Palestinian activists to stoke "fear," judge rules
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Demonstrators gathered to protest Prime Minister Netanyahu's UNGA speech on September 26, 2025. Photo: Taurat Hossain/Anadolu via Getty Images.
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration unconstitutionally targeted pro-Palestinian non-citizens for arrest and deportation to "strike fear" and "chill" speech.
Why it matters: The ruling reinforces that non-citizens legally present in the U.S. are guaranteed the same free speech protections and disputes the government's argument that visas and green cards are "privileges" that can be revoked at any time.
What they're saying: "No one's freedom of speech is unlimited, of course, but these limits are the same for both citizens and non-citizens alike," senior District Judge William G. Young wrote in a 161-page ruling.
- He found Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "deliberately" and "intentionally" sought to suppress protected political speech.
- "They did so in order to strike fear into similarly situated non-citizen pro-Palestinian individuals, pro-actively curbing lawful pro-Palestinian speech and intentionally denying such individuals the freedom of speech that is their right," he wrote.
The other side: "The administration will immediately appeal this errant decision, and we are confident we will be vindicated on review," White House spokesperson Liz Huston said in an emailed statement.
- "Studying in the United States is a privilege that the Trump Administration will not allow to foreign nationals who endanger America's national security or imperil campus safety," she added.
- The State Department told Axios via email that the U.S. "is under no obligation to allow foreign aliens to come to our country," and that officials will "continue to revoke the visas of those who put the safety of our citizens at risk."
Catch up quick: Faculty unions and the Middle East Studies Association filed the suit in March as the Trump administration began arresting and attempting to deport non-citizen students.
- Mahmoud Khalil, a leader in Columbia University's pro-Palestinian protests and a legal U.S. resident, was detained for more than three months without being charged with a crime. In mid-September, he was ordered to be deported to Syria or Algeria.
- Another legal resident, Mohsen Mahdawi, was seized at his citizenship appointment in April.
- Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student, returned to the Massachusetts campus after a six-week detention in May.
What we're watching: Young, a Reagan appointee, focused his ruling on the government policy's illegality. He will determine how to remedy the situation later.
- Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Context: Young, an 85-year-old jurist who took senior status in 2021, has presided over two key challenges to the Trump administration's authority.
- In June, he called the administration's cuts to National Institutes of Health grants "appalling" racial and anti-LGBT discrimination.
- That ruling led to a rare public rebuke from Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, for which Young later publicly apologized from the bench.
Go deeper: Mahmoud Khalil seeks $20 million from Trump admin after ICE detention
Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from White House spokesperson Liz Huston said and a State Department spokesperson, and with more background.
