The United States District Court for the Northern District of California rules that USA government actions to revoke foreign students’ visas or initiate deportation proceedings solely because of constitutionally protected political speech are unconstitutional
The United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled on 28 August that actions by the USA government to revoke foreign students’ visas or initiate deportation proceedings solely because they expressed support for Palestinians, criticised Israel or engaged in other constitutionally protected political speech violated the USA Constitution. The plaintiffs, including The Stanford Daily, argued that since 2025 the US government had taken immigration enforcement action against noncitizens who participated in or reported on pro-Palestinian campus activities, causing foreign students and journalists to self-censor for fear of deportation.
The court found that applying the relevant provisions to revoke visas or deport noncitizens on the basis of constitutionally protected speech constituted viewpoint- and content-based restrictions and violated the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. The relevant provisions were also unconstitutionally vague under the Fifth Amendment. The court declared the relevant portions of the provisions unconstitutional when applied to protected speech, but did not issue the permanent injunction requested by the plaintiffs.