Trump cannot deport students for criticizing Israel, judge rules

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Citing the importance of the First Amendment, a federal judge in California says the U.S. government is unconstitutionally silencing critics of Israel's war in Gaza and others as part of the Trump administration's quest to deport noncitizens who it says disrupted college campuses while expressing their views.

Judge Noël Wise, in a ruling Friday, delivered a victory for the student newspaper at Stanford University, which has said some international students were afraid to speak out because of the deportation threat.

The decision largely piggybacks on findings from nearly a year ago by a U.S. district judge in Boston, who ruled that the Trump administration violated the Constitution when it targeted people who are not citizens for deportation solely for supporting Palestinians and criticizing Israel.

Wise wrote that the freedoms of speech and the press are "foundational to America's enduring democracy." The judge cited free-speech and vagueness flaws that violate the First Amendment and Fifth Amendment as she struck down portions of the provisions that the federal government follows regarding deportations.

Wise cited retaliation in March 2025 by U.S. immigration authorities against people who engaged in speech supporting the Palestinians and against Israel's actions — which a growing number of experts, including those commissioned by a U.N. body, have said amount to genocide. The judge also cited retaliation against people who were critical of Charlie Kirk after the Turning Point USA co-founder was assassinated last September.

"Tomorrow, or perhaps even today, targets may include anyone in the United States who exercises their freedom of speech to simply express opinions the government does not like," the judge in San Jose said.

"This downward spiral is antithetical to our Constitution that recognizes our right to speak freely," she added. "Here you can simultaneously hate the content of a person's speech and love the country that cherishes the freedom to allow it. Zealous protection of our Constitutional right to free speech is a provocative demonstration of our country's powerful lack of fear."

The Justice Department did not respond Saturday to a message seeking comment on the decision.

Conor Fitzpatrick, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which brought the lawsuit, praised the ruling.

"In America, free speech doesn't just belong to the people who say things the government agrees with," Fitzpatrick said in a release.