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.