Judge: Trump Officials Illegally Targeted Pro‑Palestinian Noncitizens

U.S. District Judge William G. Young issued a blistering 161‑page ruling finding that senior State and Homeland Security officials in the Trump administration unlawfully targeted international students and faculty who voiced pro‑Palestinian views—using visa revocations, arrests, detentions and deportation threats—in an effort to chill protected speech. Young held that noncitizens lawfully present in the United States enjoy the same First Amendment protections as citizens and concluded the policy amounted to ideological deportation and was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. He found officials “acted in concert,” criticized ICE’s masked arrests as intended to “terrorize,” and sharply rebuked President Trump’s conduct and rhetoric as seeking retribution for disfavored speech. The decision followed a trial brought by the American Association of University Professors and the Middle East Studies Association, which presented testimony about coordinated targeting of activists including Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk. Young resolved liability and said he will decide remedies later, while the administration defends the actions as lawful enforcement against antisemitism and security threats.