In Blistering Ruling, Judge Slams Trump, Deportations

A federal judge lit into President Trump and his administration's efforts to arrest and deport international students protesting on behalf of Palestinians in extraordinary fashion on Tuesday:

• US District Judge William Young in Boston called the crackdown illegal, describing it as a "truly scandalous and unconstitutional suppression of free speech," reports the Washington Post.
• "The effect of these targeted deportation proceedings continues unconstitutionally to chill freedom of speech to this day," Young wrote in his 161-page opinion, per Politico. He called it his most important ruling in 30 years on the bench.
• Young, an appointee of Ronald Reagan, quoted the former president's declaration that freedom must "be fought for and defended constantly by each generation."
• He also criticized Trump directly, writing that his "palpable misunderstanding that the government simply cannot seek retribution for speech he disdains poses a great threat to Americans' freedom of speech." The judge accused Trump of bullying and "hollow bragging."

• The judge did not order immediate changes to administration policies but said he would hold future hearings toward that end.
• The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by university professors who accused the Trump administration of using immigration enforcement to punish students for their political views. Testimony revealed that the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department relied on reports from Canary Mission—a pro-Israel group that tracks pro-Palestinian activism—to identify students for visa revocation and deportation.
• One example involved Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish graduate student at Tufts, whose visa was pulled based on an op-ed criticizing the university's response to Gaza—despite no evidence of antisemitic or pro-terrorist activity. Ozturk spent more than six weeks in detention until a judge ordered her release.