Trump cannot deport students for criticizing Israel, judge rules
- A federal judge in California ruled Friday that the Trump administration's deportation policy targeting noncitizens for criticizing Israel's war in Gaza violates the First and Fifth Amendments.
- Judge Noël Wise found that the government's tactics have had a chilling effect on college campuses, with international students at Stanford Daily self-censoring or leaving due to deportation fears.
- The ruling supports The Stanford Daily's lawsuit brought by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, affirming that noncitizens have the same First Amendment rights as citizens.
- The judge cited March 2025 immigration enforcement actions against people supporting Palestinians and criticizing Israel, stating such retaliation is unconstitutional.
- Judge Wise emphasized that the vague standards leave noncitizens unable to understand what speech is permitted, violating constitutional requirements for clear legal standards.
A federal judge in California ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot deport noncitizens solely for criticizing Israel's war in Gaza or expressing pro-Palestinian views. Judge Noël Wise found that such deportation policies violate the First Amendment's protection of free speech and the Fifth Amendment's requirement for clear legal standards. The ruling supports a lawsuit brought by The Stanford Daily, Stanford University's student newspaper, which documented how international students feared speaking out due to deportation threats.
Judge Wise emphasized that the government's enforcement actions have created a chilling effect on college campuses. She noted that at The Stanford Daily, noncitizen staff members have quit, withheld articles, refused assignments, and requested anonymity due to immigration concerns. The judge stated that noncitizens possess the same First Amendment rights as citizens and cannot be left to guess what constitutes permissible speech regarding U.S. foreign policy.
The decision aligns with a similar ruling from a Boston federal judge nearly a year earlier, who also found the Trump administration violated the Constitution by targeting noncitizens for deportation based solely on their speech supporting Palestinians. Judge Wise wrote that "freedom of speech is illusory if we are only 'free' to express complementary views about the government," and warned that such policies threaten constitutional protections for all Americans.
法官裁定特朗普政府不能因批评以色列而驱逐学生
加州联邦法官于周五裁定，特朗普政府不能仅因非公民批评以色列加沙战争或表达亲巴勒斯坦观点而将其驱逐出境。法官诺埃尔·怀斯认定此类驱逐政策违反了第一修正案对言论自由的保护和第五修正案对明确法律标准的要求。该裁决支持由斯坦福大学学生报《斯坦福日报》提起的诉讼，该报记录了国际学生因驱逐威胁而害怕发言的情况。
法官怀斯强调，政府的执法行动在大学校园中产生了寒蝉效应。她指出，在《斯坦福日报》，非公民员工因移民问题而辞职、扣留文章、拒绝任务并要求匿名。法官表示，非公民拥有与公民相同的第一修正案权利，不能被迫猜测什么构成关于美国外交政策的可允许言论。
该裁决与波士顿联邦法官近一年前的类似裁决一致，后者也认定特朗普政府通过仅基于非公民支持巴勒斯坦人的言论而将其驱逐来违反宪法。法官怀斯写道，"如果我们只能自由表达与政府相符的观点，那么言论自由就是虚幻的"，并警告称此类政策威胁到所有美国人的宪法保护。