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Boston Trial Examines Trump Administration’s Campus Deportation Policy

Opening testimony reveals visa revocation guidance, social media monitoring, self-censorship among noncitizen scholars

FILE - A crowd gathers in Foley Square, outside the Manhattan federal court, in support of Mahmoud Khalil, March 12, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah, File)
Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil speaks at a rally to welcome him home after being released from immigration custody, outside the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, U.S., June 22, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo
Mahmoud Khalil stands with his wife Noor Abdalla
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Overview

  • A two-week bench trial began July 7 in Boston as the American Association of University Professors and Middle East Studies Association challenge the administration’s use of immigration law against noncitizen students and faculty involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
  • Plaintiffs contend formal interagency guidance on visa revocations, a federal surveillance program and targeted information sharing with universities amount to an ideological deportation policy.
  • Government attorneys argue that no such policy exists and insist plaintiffs cannot point to any statute, regulation or directive authorizing ideological deportations.
  • Early witnesses described how threats of detention and visa cancellation have terrorized noncitizen scholars into self-censorship, withdrawal from public engagement and abandonment of pro-Palestinian research.
  • U.S. District Judge William Young will determine whether the administration’s actions violated the First Amendment and Administrative Procedure Act before setting any remedies.