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Young responded with a typed message starting, “Dear Mr. or Ms. Anonymous,” followed by his 161-page opinion concluding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, along with their subordinates, misused their authority “to target non-citizen pro-Palestinians for deportation primarily on account of their First Amendment protected political speech.”
The court’s ruling was significant, said George Wang from the Knight First Amendment Institute. The organization represented the plaintiffs in the case.
Trump’s administration vowed to appeal the decision and stated they were “confident we will be vindicated on review.” The White House spokesperson Liz Huston called the ruling “outrageous” and said it hampers the safety and security of our nation, especially after recent arrests of rioters outside ICE facilities.
Judge Young’s opinion emphasized that legal non-citizens have free speech rights. This case was deemed “perhaps the most important ever” to fall within his court’s jurisdiction. Young wrote: “No one’s freedom of speech is unlimited, but these limits are the same for both citizens and non-citizens alike.”
Young ended his opinion with a response to the sender of the handwritten note, saying, “I hope you found this helpful. Thanks for writing. It shows you care. You should.”
