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Judge Noël Wise Rules Against Administration Efforts to Deport Noncitizens for Expressing Opinions

A federal judge in California has ruled that the Trump administration's efforts to deport noncitizens for expressing political opinions are unconstitutional. Judge Noël Wise struck down provisions used by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to target foreign students and others for deportation based on their speech regarding the war in Gaza and other topics. The ruling affirms that freedom of speech is an inalienable right, not a privilege granted by the government. Judge Noël Wise noted that the administration's actions created a 'chilling' effect on college campuses, where noncitizen students were often afraid to speak out against Israel or in support of Palestinians because of the threat of deportation. The decision supports The Stanford Daily, which sued to protect its reporters from being deported for writing critical stories. The ruling also addresses specific cases involving students like Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi, who were targeted for pro-Palestinian speech. The administration argued that noncitizens' opinions could harm U.S. foreign policy, but the court found that the government cannot punish people for protected speech simply because officials dislike their views.

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