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Federal Judge Upholds Free Speech for Non-Citizens

10/3/2025

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Story summary
  • A federal judge ruled the Trump administration violated Öztürk and Mahdawi's First Amendment rights by deporting them.
  • The ruling holds non-citizens have equal free-speech protections.
  • Öztürk was detained in March after co-authoring a student newspaper piece. Mahdawi was detained during a citizenship interview.
  • Both were released by Vermont judges; the appeals court has not ruled on the deportation appeal.