Stanford newspaper sues Trump administration over student deportations

Stanford University’s student-run newspaper sued two senior Trump administration officials Wednesday to prevent the deportation of noncitizen students on the basis of their speech, taking aim at a federal law the administration has used to justify students’ arrests.

The lawsuit argues that it is unconstitutional for Secretary of State Marco Rubio to lean on the Immigration and Nationality Act to revoke students’ visas or try to deport them if he believes they undermine U.S. foreign policy based on the content of their protected speech. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which seeks to protect free speech on campuses, filed the complaint on behalf of the Stanford Daily and two former unnamed college students.

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration are trying to turn the inalienable human right of free speech into a privilege contingent upon the whims of a federal bureaucrat, triggering deportation proceedings against noncitizens residing lawfully in this country for their protected political speech regarding American and Israeli foreign policy,” the lawsuit says.

The Stanford Daily alleges its ability to do news and opinion journalism, the core of its mission, has been hindered by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. A student reporter quit the paper, the lawsuit says, while others have refused to publish articles, asked to have their names removed or petitioned to have entire articles deleted.

“If the administration were targeting people who actually committed crimes, who actually committed deportable offenses, we would be having a very different conversation,” said Conor Fitzpatrick, supervising senior attorney at FIRE. “But this is an administration that is brazenly going after law-abiding noncitizens for doing nothing more than voicing an opinion that the government of the day doesn’t like.”

Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem are defendants in the lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California.

In a statement attributed to a senior State Department official, that department declined to comment Wednesday. “We direct you to the Secretary’s statements regarding the obligations of visa holders and other aliens to comply with U.S. law,” the statement said.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the suit “baseless” in a statement. “DHS doesn’t arrest people based on protected speech, so the plaintiffs’ premise is incorrect,” she said. “DHS takes its role in removing threats to the public and our communities seriously, and the idea that enforcing federal law in that regard constitutes some kind of prior restraint on speech is laughable.”

Trump administration officials in recent months have sought to deport college students who have criticized Israel for its war in Gaza, compiling reports on at least 100 students. The officials have repeatedly vowed to deport noncitizens they accuse of being “pro-Hamas” and have characterized anti-war protests on campuses as antisemitic.

Since March, the government has detained Mahmoud Khalil, who was a student at Columbia University; Rumeysa Ozturk, a graduate student at Tufts University; and Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral scholar at Georgetown University. None of them have been accused of a crime.

At Stanford, international students’ fear of having their visas revoked or being deported for being associated with certain viewpoints has impacted their right to free speech, the lawsuit argues.

Greta Reich, editor in chief of the Stanford Daily, said in a statement that student reporters fear “being associated with speaking on political topics, even in a journalistic capacity.” She previously told The Post that international students are also reluctant to be quoted in the newspaper.

One of the former students who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit is in the United States on a visa and attended an unnamed university. The lawsuit alleges Canary Mission – a website that publishes a list of people and groups it says “promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews” on campuses – published her name after she posted pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel commentary online. She has not posted anything since March, the complaint says.

The other former student in the lawsuit, who also attended an unnamed school, said he chose not to publish a study criticizing Israel’s military operations in Gaza to also avoid being targeted by the U.S. government, according to the lawsuit. He has resumed criticizing Israel, the complaint says, despite being placed “in danger of visa revocation” and deportation.

“Secretary Rubio and the Trump administration’s war against noncitizens’ freedom of speech is intended to send an unmistakable message: Watch what you say, or you could be next,” the lawsuit says. “Message received.”