US Federal Judge Rules Trump-Era Visa Cancellations Over Pro-Palestinian Activity Unconstitutional

A federal judge in San Jose, California, ruled on July 22, 2025, that Trump administration policies canceling visas of foreign nationals due to pro-Palestinian activism are unconstitutional. Judge Noelle Weiss sharply criticized the State Department and Department of Homeland Security for using immigration laws to initiate deportation proceedings against foreign students as a means to suppress their political views. Weiss emphasized that freedom of speech, including criticism of governments, is a cornerstone of American democracy and that penalizing individuals for their opinions undermines this principle.

The ruling came after a lawsuit filed in August 2025 by The Stanford Daily, the student newspaper of Stanford University, which argued that the visa cancellations and deportations violated the First and Fifth Amendments. The Trump administration had used two immigration law provisions allowing the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to revoke visas if foreign nationals' actions were deemed harmful to U.S. foreign policy interests. Weiss found that targeting speech for visa cancellation constitutes unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.

The case involved the detention of foreign students, including Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who is fighting deportation. The judge warned that the government’s approach could extend to anyone exercising free speech that the administration dislikes, calling it a "slippery slope" contrary to constitutional rights. This decision aligns with a similar 2024 ruling by a Boston federal judge that struck down comparable Trump-era policies.

As of the ruling, the State Department and Homeland Security had not responded to the court’s decision or the criticisms raised. The ruling underscores ongoing tensions over free speech, immigration enforcement, and political activism on U.S. campuses, particularly regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.