The complaint accuses the Trump administration of turning freedom of speech into a “privilege that is on the whimsical terms of federal bureaucrats.”
Colombian activist Mahmoud Khalil returns home after ice detention
Colombian activist Mahmoud Khalil greeted his supporters at Newark International Airport after being released from immigration detention.
- The case was filed on August 6th in federal court in Northern California.
- The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of violating the First and Fifth Amendments in an attempt to use immigration law to target pro-Palestinian speeches.
Stanford University Student Newspaper sued the Trump administration for attempts to revoke non-citizen visas and to force Palestinian speeches using federal immigration laws, saying such policies violate the first and fifth amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation, which runs Stanford University’s student newspaper, Stanford Daily, and two unnamed plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit on August 6th in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a national free speech group, represents student publications.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Christie Noem of the Department of Homeland Security have been appointed defendants.
The complaint alleges that non-citizen writers from the student newspaper “self-censored” by avoiding topics related to Palestinian protests and Israeli war in Gaza and attempting to remove previous articles on the issue.
Other plaintiffs, called Jane Daw and John Do, are legally non-citizens in the United States, the complaint said. Neither of them were charged with or convicted of crimes, but the lawsuit said their fear of possible retaliation by President Donald Trump’s administration has prompted them to refrain from giving Palestinian speeches.
According to the complaint, one individual “resumed his journalism and Palestinian advocacy, putting him at risk of revoking his visa and deporting him.”
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration are trying to turn the human rights of free speech into a privilege that comes with the whimsical privilege of federal officials, and are attempting to raise deportation lawsuits against non-citizens who reside in the country for protected political speeches on US and Israeli foreign policy,” the complaint said.
Homeland Security Deputy Director Tricia McLaughlin called it “a baseless political lawsuit” in an email to USA Today.
“The plaintiff’s premise is wrong because DHS does not arrest people based on protected speeches,” McLaughlin said. “DHS plays a role in seriously eliminating the threats to the public and our community. The idea of enforcing federal law in that respect constitutes some kind of prior restraint on speech.”
“We have no room in the United States for sympathizers of terrorists around the world, so we have no obligation to acknowledge them or stay here,” McLaughlin said.
“Sec. Noem has made it clear that anyone who thinks that they can come to America and hide behind the original amendment to defend anti-American and anti-Semitic violence and terrorism is thinking again,” she said.
Among other requests, the complaint asks the court to grant both preliminary and permanent injunctions prohibiting Rubio and NOEM from attempting to use provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act to deport or retaliate plaintiffs based on their speech.
The American Association of University Professors and various university chapters filed similar lawsuits in Boston over the administration’s actions against non-citizens in Palestinian speech. The judge has not yet issued a judgment in the case.
USA Today reached the State Department for comment.
Brieanna Frank is USA Today’s first revised reporting fellow. Contact her at bjfrank@usatoday.com.
Reports on the First Amendment issue for USA Today are funded through collaborations between the Freedom Forum and Journalism fundraising partners. Funders do not provide editor input.
