The Daily Populous Wednesday October 1st, 2025 night edition
Authored by pbs.org and submitted by ZonaDesertRat

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration ’s efforts to deport noncitizens for protesting the war in Gaza was unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge William Young in Boston agreed with several university associations that the policy they described as ideological deportation violates the First Amendment. The ruling came after a trial.

An email to the Homeland Security department for comment was not immediately returned.

During the trial, lawyers for the associations presented witnesses who testified that the Trump administration had launched a coordinated effort to target students and scholars who had criticized Israel or showed sympathy for Palestinians.

“Not since the McCarthy era have immigrants been the target of such intense repression for lawful political speech,” Ramya Krishnan, senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute, told the court. “The policy creates a cloud of fear over university communities, and it is at war with the First Amendment.”

Lawyers for the Trump administration put up witnesses who testified there was no ideological deportation policy as the plaintiffs contend.

WATCH: Mahmoud Khalil speaks at Newark airport after release from immigration detention

“There is no policy to revoke visas on the basis of protected speech,” Victoria Santora told the court. “The evidence presented at this trial will show that plaintiffs are challenging nothing more than government enforcement of immigration laws.”

John Armstrong, the senior bureau official in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, testified that visa revocations were based on longstanding immigration law. Armstrong acknowledged he played a role in the visa revocation of several high-profile activists, including Rumeysa Ozturk and Mahmoud Khalil, and was shown memos endorsing their removal.

grundlefuck on September 30th, 2025 at 18:20 UTC »

Supreme Court will say there is no precedent and reverse it in short order.

mrdominoe on September 30th, 2025 at 18:02 UTC »

"I'm going to keep doing it anyway"

AudibleNod on September 30th, 2025 at 17:54 UTC »

I don't think this is going to stop him. In fact, it's an opportunity for fundraising to show how he "supports Israel".