US judge strikes down parts of deportation law targeting non-citizens because of their views on Gaza

Judge Noelle Wise said, in a ruling issued yesterday, Friday, that the government is targeting non-citizens because they express their opinions regarding the Israeli war in Gaza and other areas, as part of the administration’s campaign to deport foreigners whom it accuses of causing disturbances within universities while expressing their political positions.

The ruling came in favor of the student newspaper at Stanford University, which confirmed that some foreign students have become afraid to express their opinions publicly, for fear of being subjected to deportation.

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Wise based her ruling largely on the findings of a federal judge in Boston about a year ago, when he concluded that the Trump administration violated the Constitution by targeting and deporting noncitizens simply for their support of the Palestinians and criticism of Israel.

Wise emphasized that freedom of expression and freedom of the press are “fundamental to the established American democracy,” noting that there are problems in the laws on which the government relies in deportation procedures, including those related to protecting freedom of expression and the lack of clarity in legal texts.

The judge concluded that parts of these provisions violated the First and Fifth Amendments to the US Constitution, and invalidated the parts that the federal government could rely on for deportations.

Wise also referred to the retaliatory measures taken by US immigration authorities in March 2025 against people who expressed pro-Palestinian positions and opposition to Israeli measures.