Anti-Israel speech from lawful non-citizens likely protected by First Amendment, federal judge says
'I'm asking if a lawfully non-citizen has the same rights as a citizen,' Judge William G. Young said Thursday. 'Probably they do. The answer is in the affirmative. Again, we are talking about pure speech.'
'Antisemitism is not illegal,' Young said. 'It may be repulsive, but it is not illegal. It is protected under the First Amendment.'
The trial, involving a group of university professors who say the administration's efforts to deport individuals over their anti-Israel views is intended to limit protected political speech, is set for closing arguments Monday.
On Thursday, the judge also said that in order to find that someone has supported Hamas, it 'has to be something more' than criticism of Israel or support of Palestine.
Over the course of the two-week trial, Homeland Security agents and leadership within the department have testified about how DHS works with the State Department to investigate individuals who may violate an executive order from President Donald Trump on antisemitism.
According to testimony from DHS agents, the State Department has referred individuals — sometimes through lists compiled by third-party organizations – that they want Homeland Security Investigators to research.
That research, according to testimony, involved pulling information on what individual students and professors have said or written regarding Israel and Palestine. One way analysts would conduct this research is by running Google searches on the people referred by the State Department.
Reports are then made for review and sent to the State Department if there's enough information so that the Secretary of State can determine whether a person's presence in the US may have adverse foreign policy consequences, according to testimony.
The Trump administration has used this process to revoke the visas of several students and professors in the US who have expressed anti-Israel views and is working to have them deported. Some of those detained include Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk, who was detained for six weeks and whose anti-Israel op-ed had been flagged to HSI agents by the State Department.
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