Judge to Weigh Remedies After Ruling on Deportations of Student Activists

Federal Judge William G. Young will hear arguments on Thursday to determine what, if any, remedies should follow his September finding that the Trump administration deliberately chilled the speech of international students with targeted arrests and attempted deportations. In a 161-page opinion last year, Judge Young found that noncitizen students have the same First Amendment rights as citizens and called the case “perhaps the most important” of his career.

During a two-week trial, lawyers examined the cases of five students — Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, Mohsen Mahdawi, Badar Khan Suri and Yunseo Chung — who were legally in the United States but were accused by the administration of undermining U.S. foreign policy; some were held for months and faced deportation before successfully challenging those actions and being released.

Academic organizations that sued are seeking broad relief to bar what they describe as an enforcement policy of revoking green cards and student visas based on anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian speech. “The government’s unconstitutional actions have made many noncitizen students and faculty fearful of speaking out on issues that are important to them,” said Ramya Krishnan of the Knight First Amendment Institute.

Key Topics

Politics, William G. Young, Boston, Trump Administration, Noncitizen Students, Mahmoud Khalil