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Reagan-appointed judge rips into Trump’s ‘fear’ of First Amendment protections in case involving pro-Palestine protests
Alex Woodward in New York Thursday 15 January 2026 22:10 GMT- Bookmark
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A federal judge issued a remarkable rebuke directed at President Donald Trump and top administration officials, he says, who have waged an “unconstitutional conspiracy” against international students for their Palestinian advocacy against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “have failed in their duties to protect the Constitution” by depriving the First Amendment rights of students and faculty in their threats to strip them of visas and arrest and deport them, according to Massachusetts District Judge William Young.
The 85-year-old judge appointed by Ronald Reagan had previously labeled the administration’s actions a “full-throated assault on the First Amendment across the board under the cover of an unconstitutionally broad definition” of antisemitism in a damning 161-page opinion last year.
In a hearing Thursday to determine how the government can remedy such a sweeping threat, an exasperated Young repeatedly appeared shocked by the scope of the administration’s actions and delivered a minutes-long speech reading directly from the Constitution.
“I find it breathtaking that I have been compelled in the evidence to find the conduct of such high-level officers of our government, cabinet secretaries, conspiring to infringe the First Amendment rights,” Young said in his closing remarks.
open image in galleryAn 85-year-old federal judge appointed by Ronald Reagan delivered a stunning rebuke of what he called the Trump administration’s ‘unconstitutional conspiracy’ against pro-Palestinian students (AFP via Getty Images)“I’ve never had a case that approached that level of consequence,” he said. “But I’ve asked myself, why? How did this happen? How could our own government, the highest officials in our government, seek to so infringe the rights of people lawfully here in the United States?”
His remarks follow a lawsuit brought by university professors and groups representing faculty and graduate students who argued the administration mounted an unconstitutional campaign against campus activists — including Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil — with the aid of anonymous pro-Israel activist websites.
Rubio sought to justify the arrests of international students for their pro-Palestine activism by claiming their presence in the country undermines foreign policy interests to prevent antisemitism. He has said he “proudly” revoked hundreds of student visas over campus activism, leading to several high-profile arrests, including those of Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University.
Their cases are now at critical junctures after legal battles secured their release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody over First Amendment violations, for now.
open image in galleryJudge William Young accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio of conspiring with other administration officials to violated the First Amendment rights of students whose views on Israel do not align with the president’s (REUTERS)The federal government’s actions were “appalling,” Young said Thursday.
Homeland Security officers “were taken off anti-terrorist investigations” to pursue international students, he said.
“They were taken off human trafficking investigations all to look up … what dirt they could find on this group,” he added. “The very highest levels of [Homeland Security] decided that’s the best use of those people.”
The judge said he was struck by the “intentionality” among administration officials to violate First Amendment rights.
“I see this as a conspiracy to deprive your clients of First Amendment constitutional rights,” Young told lawyers for the plaintiffs.
“It's fairly clear that this president believes, as an authoritarian, when he speaks, everyone, everyone, in Article II, is going to toe the line absolutely,” he added.
He said he was convinced by evidence in the case that high-ranking government officials, including the president, have “a view of freedom by who’s excluded” as though “they fear First Amendment protections” and “exclude from participation everyone who does not agree with them.”
Hours earlier, in a victory for the Trump administration, a split 2-1 decision from a three-judge federal appeals court panel overturned a lower-court ruling that found Khalil’s detention and removal likely unconstitutional.
The judges determined that the district court did not have subject matter jurisdiction over Khalil’s immigration proceedings, though what happens next is unclear, as lawyers untangle overlapping cases in federal courts and immigration courts surrounding his arrest and threat of removal from the country.
The ruling is “deeply disappointing, but it does not break our resolve,” Khalil said in a statement shared with The Independent.
“The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability,” he added. “I will continue to fight, through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination, until my rights, and the rights of others like me, are fully protected.”
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