A US federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration violated constitutional protections by using immigration powers against international students for pro-Palestinian speech.

The Trump administration violated the Constitution when it moved to deport or rescind visas from international students who spoke up for Palestinian rights and criticised Israel’s genocide in Gaza, a federal judge ruled on Friday.

Northern District of California Judge Noël Wise, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, said that the administration’s actions violated both the First Amendment of the Constitution protecting free speech and the Fifth Amendment ensuring due process.

“Stated plainly, in the United States, freedom of speech belongs to the people. It is not the government’s to take,” Wise wrote.

Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement early in the second Trump administration despite holding a green card, celebrated the ruling on Saturday.

“A federal judge just ruled that the Trump admin’s use of immigration law to deport me and other noncitizen students for........

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