The ruling was a victory for the student newspaper at Stanford University, which maintained that the threat of deportation had led some noncitizens to no longer work there or express their views.

Aug 30, 2026

Updated 2:40 pm PT

The Associated Press

The arched walkways of Stanford’s Main Quad in Stanford Oct. 29, 2025. The ruling was a victory for the student newspaper at Stanford University, which maintained that the threat of deportation had led some noncitizens to no longer work there or express their views. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)

Citing the importance of the First Amendment, a federal judge in California says the U.S. government is unconstitutionally silencing critics of Israel’s war in Gaza and others as part of the Trump administration’s quest to deport noncitizens who it says disrupted college campuses while expressing their views.

Judge Noël Wise, in a ruling Friday, delivered a victory for The Stanford Daily, the student newspaper at Stanford University, which has said some international students were afraid to speak out because of the deportation threat.

“Freedom of speech is illusory if we are only ‘free’ to express complementary views about the government and its leaders,” the judge wrote.

Cecil H Green Library at Stanford University in Palo Alto on December 10, 2025. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)

The decision largely piggybacks on findings from nearly a year ago by a U.S. district judge in Boston, who ruled that the Trump administration violated the Constitution when it targeted people who are not citizens for deportation solely for supporting Palestinians and criticizing Israel.

Wise wrote that the freedoms of speech and the press are “foundational to America’s enduring democracy.” The judge cited free-speech and vagueness flaws that violate the First Amendment and Fifth Amendment as she struck down portions of the provisions that the federal government follows regarding deportations.

Wise cited retaliation in March 2025 by U.S. immigration authorities against people who engaged in speech supporting the Palestinians and against Israel’s actions — which a growing number of experts, including those commissioned by a U.N. body, have said amount to genocide. The judge also cited retaliation against people who were critical of Charlie Kirk after the Turning Point USA co-founder was assassinated last September.

The UC Berkeley pro-Palestine encampment outside of Sproul hall in Berkeley, Calif. on May 11, 2024. UC Berkeley students were among those on college campuses across the country who criticized Israel’s actions in its war in Gaza.  (Aryk Copley for KQED)

In her decision, Wise said it was clear that the government’s tactics has had an effect on college campuses.

“The government has offered a chilling message regarding protected speech — speak out against Israel or in support of Palestinians and we will revoke your visa and deport you. Behave. Noncitizen students heard the warning and heeded. And, as the idiom goes, the silence is deafening,” the judge wrote.