A federal judge ruled Friday, Aug. 28, that the government violated the Constitution by targeting Stanford Daily journalists for deportation over their protest coverage.

U.S. District Judge Noël Wise issued a 90-page opinion finding that the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security violated the First and Fifth Amendments by revoking visas and launching deportation proceedings against noncitizen student writers. The case, heard in San Jose, is the first in the country to rule on the constitutionality of the specific immigration statutes the government used, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which brought the legal challenge.

The Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation, the student-run nonprofit that oversees the campus newspaper, filed the lawsuit in August 2025. Stanford University was not a party to the case. The suit named Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin as defendants.

At issue were two provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). One allows the secretary of state to begin deportation proceedings against noncitizens whose speech "compromises a compelling foreign policy interest." The second gives the secretary of state broad power to revoke any noncitizen's visa at any time. Wise ruled both provisions unconstitutional.

The lawsuit alleged the government's enforcement actions had already chilled the newsroom. Noncitizen writers declined to cover pro-Palestinian protests or topics related to the war in Gaza despite holding valid visas, the lawsuit stated, as Redwood City Pulse reported. An editor resigned over fears about his visa status. A writer refused to publish an article about a Gaza-related vigil.

"The reporters in our newsroom shouldn't have to fear that writing a story will result in their deportation," Stanford Daily editor-in-chief George Porteous wrote on LinkedIn. "Today's victory means they won't have to."

Wise described the administration's actions as a "campaign of speech-chilling retribution," the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The ruling cited the detentions of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk and Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi as examples of the government targeting noncitizens for protected speech.

The judge warned the pattern could widen. Wise wrote that "targets may include anyone in the United States who exercises their freedom of speech to simply express opinions the government does not like," Reuters reported.

A similar ruling came in 2025 from Boston-based U.S. District Judge William Young, who found the administration acted unconstitutionally by revoking visas and deporting foreign students engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy.

The State Department and DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported.