A Federal Judge Ruled Thursday, that University Association Members may seek Relief from the Court, if their Immigration Status is Changed as Retribution for Challenging an Alleged Trump (R) Administration Policy to Single Put Campus Activists Critical of Israel’s War in Gaza, for Immigration Enforcement. U.S. District Judge William Young’s Order, follows a Trial last year where He found top Cabinet Officials Conspired to Target Noncitizens for Deportation on account of their Support for Palestinians and Criticism of Israel.
At a Hearing last week, Young said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (R) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) Operated an “Unconstitutional Conspiracy” to Deport certain People so the University Association Members would be hesitant to Speak-Out. “The big problem in this case is that the Cabinet secretaries, and ostensibly, the president of the United States, are not honoring the First Amendment,” Young said. “There doesn’t seem to be an understanding of what the First Amendment is by this government.”
The Judge, an Appointee of President Reagan (R), described His Thursday Order as a “remedial sanction to protect certain of the plaintiffs’ non-citizen members from any retribution for the free exercise of their constitutional rights.”
For a Non-Citizen to seek Relief for their Immigration Status Change under the Order, Young said they would first have to show they were a member of the American Association of University Professors or Middle East Studies Association — the two university associations that sued — between March 25, 2025, and Sept. 30, 2025. Additionally, they would need to prove their immigration status had not expired and that they committed no crimes after Sept. 30, 2025.
If they prove as much, Young ruled the presumption will be that the alteration in their immigration status came “in retribution” for exercising their First Amendment rights during the course of the case. It would void alteration of the person’s immigration status unless the government can prove their immigration status had expired, they were convicted of a crime where a jury trial was their right or there was an “APPROPRIATE reason” under immigration law for changing their status.
Ramya Krishnan, a senior staff attorney with the Knight First Amendment Institute, which represented the challengers, said in a statement the judgment makes “emphatically clear” that the Trump administration’s “campaign of intimidation must end.” “The administration’s lawless efforts to deport pro-Palestinian advocates has spread terror in our campus communities,” Krishnan said. “Students and scholars shouldn’t have to live in fear that ICE agents could seize them from their homes merely for engaging in political expression.”
A State Department spokesperson told The Hill that the agency abides by all applicable laws to ensure the U.S. does not “harbor aliens who pose a threat to our national security.” “The Trump Administration is using every tool available to get terrorist-supporting aliens out of our country,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “A visa is a privilege, not a right.” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin (R) Signaled the Administration will Appeal.
“There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,” McLaughlin said in a Statement. “The framers of our Constitution and its Bill of Rights never contemplated a world where foreign citizens could come here as guests and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for anti-American and anti-Semitic violence and terrorism. We expect a higher court to vindicate us in this,. Last year’s trial over the arrests of and efforts to deport foreign-born students and faculty members linked to campus demonstrations lasted roughly two weeks — the first major trial of Trump’s second administration. Young has called the case “perhaps the most important ever to fall within the jurisdiction of this district court.” Sshe added
Green Card-Holding Professors at U.S. Universities, Testified at Trial that the High-Profile Arrests of Outspoken Students, such as Former Columbia University Pro-Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk, made them Fearful and Stifled their Speech. Khalil faced a Setback in His Bid to Remain in the U.S. earlier this month, after an Appeals Court Panel Ruled a Federal Judge had No Power to Order His Release. The 2-1 Decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, could Lead to Khalil’s Rearrest, though He is able to continue Appealing.
The Trial also Revealed that more than 5,000 Pro-Palestinian Protesters were Targeted in the Campaign. Many of those Targeted appeared to have their Names plucked from the Online Blacklist Canary Mission. A Senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Official said between 100 and 200 Reports were Ultimately Compiled on People identified, but that Analysts who were Working on Cases Involving Counterterrorism, Cybercrimes and Global Trade were Moved to put together Reports on Demonstrators “because of the workload.”
At the Hearing earlier this month, Young expressed Disbelief at the Trump Administration’s Tactics. “How could this happen? How could our government’s highest officials seek to so infringe on the rights of people lawfully here in the United States?” the judge said. “The record in this case convinces me that these high officials — and I include the president of the United States — have a fearful view of freedom.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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