Unsealed documents prove the government crusade to deport Ozturk, Khalil, and others is based solely on protected expression

On Thursday, a federal judge unsealed internal government documents shining a light into how the Trump administration targeted pro-Palestinian foreign students — who were all legally present in the United States — for deportation.

Since the beginning, FIRE has demanded answers. The American people deserve reassurance that their government was not trying to deport people lawfully in the United States based on their opinions alone. Such action would be intolerable in a free society.

Now we know that the government’s case was built not on criminal activity, but on the opinions expressed.

On Aug. 6, FIRE sued Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others, arguing that the two federal immigration law provisions used in their crusade to deport legal immigrants over protected speech are unconstitutional.

The following statement can be attributed to Conor Fitzpatrick, FIRE supervising senior attorney.

There are few things more un-American than masked agents throwing dissenters in the back of a van because the government doesn’t like what they have to say. But these documents prove that it was the students’ opinions alone, and not any criminal activity, that led to handcuffs and deportation proceedings. The First Amendment means the government cannot punish speakers for their opinions, but that is exactly what the government is doing.

This can’t happen in a free society. It can’t happen in a free America. We’ll continue to fight this egregious violation of the Constitution every step of the way.