Judge rules Trump administration unlawfully targeted pro-Palestine activists

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California:  A federal judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration’s use of federal immigration laws to cancel student visas and initiate deportation proceedings against noncitizen college students over pro-Palestinian advocacy and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.

US District Judge Noel Wise in San Jose, California, issuing a blistering decision, chastised the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security for using immigration statutes to target individuals expressing disfavored political views. The court noted that singling out noncitizen speech based on content directly violates constitutional protections.

The legal challenge was filed in August 2025 by The Stanford Daily, Stanford University's student newspaper, alongside noncitizen student journalists.

The plaintiffs demonstrated that enforcement of the policies created a severe chilling effect, forcing student writers to self-censor and avoid covering campus Middle East protests out of fear of deportation.

Judge Wise emphasized that democratic strength relies on free speech and the freedom to criticize government policy without fear.

She warned that allowing the government to penalize disfavored viewpoints threatens open discourse for both citizens and noncitizens across the nation.