Boston federal district court issues order restricting Trump Administration’s ability to deport students and faculty for political speech

On January 22, 2026, federal district court Judge William Young issued an order limiting the Trump Administration’s power to deport noncitizen students and faculty for their pro-Palestine political speech. Last year, the Trump Administration targeted students and faculty who spoke out in support of Palestine by arresting them and placing them in deportation proceedings. See our previous post on these arrests here. Judge Young ruled last September that noncitizens have the same free speech rights as US citizens. 

Judge Young’s January 22, 2026 ruling held that the Trump Administration engaged in viewpoint discrimination when it targeted these noncitizens for arrest and deportation. The ruling also states that this practice violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to follow Notice and Comment rulemaking. Lastly, Judge Young ordered that any adverse change in immigration status for those involved in the lawsuit “will be presumed to be retribution and declared void” unless the Trump Administration can prove “by clear and convincing evidence that the change is due to a criminal conviction, an independent change in immigration status, or another specific legitimate reason.” Shelley Murphy, The Boston Globe. 

For more information, see reporting from the Knight First Amendment at Columbia University and The Boston Globe.