by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

KLZ UPDATE — Aug. 31@ 0615MST: The State Department has responded to the ruling by saying it does not comment on pending litigation while reiterating that a U.S. visa is a privilege rather than a right and that the department remains committed to using the visa process to protect national security and public safety. The Justice Department had not publicly announced an appeal as of early Monday.

(Worthy News) – A federal judge in California ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot use immigration law to revoke visas or pursue deportation against lawfully present noncitizens solely over protected political speech, handing a legal setback to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s effort to remove foreign students accused of anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian activism.

We are reviewing the visa status of the trespassers and vandals who took over Columbia University’s library.

Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 8, 2025

https://platform.x.com/widgets.js

U.S. District Judge Noël Wise found that challenged provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as applied to protected speech, violated the First and Fifth Amendments. The case was brought by The Stanford Daily and a noncitizen student, who argued that the administration’s policy chilled student reporting and expression on Middle East-related issues.

Wise wrote that “freedom of speech belongs to the people” and is “not the government’s to take,” while also acknowledging that the federal government has broad authority over immigration and foreign policy. The ruling does not eliminate the government’s power to enforce immigration law, but it limits the use of visa revocation or deportation as punishment for constitutionally protected speech.

FIRE lawsuit victory! A federal court just ruled that the statutes the Trump administration is using to deport lawfully present noncitizens for their speech are UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

— FIRE (@TheFIREorg) August 29, 2026

https://platform.x.com/widgets.js

The decision comes amid a broader national debate over campus protests, antisemitism, foreign student visas, and whether noncitizens lawfully present in the United States receive the same core free-speech protections as citizens. The Justice Department did not immediately comment on whether it would appeal.

The post Federal Judge Rules Rubio Visa Policy Violated First, Fifth Amendments appeared first on Worthy Christian News.