Overview
- U.S. District Judge Noël Wise issued a 90-page decision Friday in San Jose that held key portions of the Immigration and Nationality Act unconstitutional as applied when visa cancellations or deportation determinations are driven by protected speech.
- The ruling found the statutes gave the Secretary of State unchecked discretion to revoke visas or render noncitizens deportable based on beliefs, statements, or associations and that using those powers against speech violates the First Amendment and the Fifth Amendment.
- Judge Wise relied on a pattern of enforcement beginning in March 2025, including arrests and visa revocations of pro‑Palestinian activists, to show the government singled out critical views and produced a measurable chilling effect on student reporters.
- The Stanford Daily and anonymous plaintiffs, represented by FIRE, documented that some international student journalists resigned, removed articles, or declined reporting assignments out of fear that their immigration status would be jeopardized.
- The decision aligns with an earlier Boston ruling and narrows the government’s ability to use immigration law to police political expression, but the State Department, DHS and the Justice Department are expected to appeal and an appellate ruling will determine the nationwide impact.