Federal judge stops deportation of British man targeted by Trump administration
WASHINGTON, DC: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from detaining or deporting a British national who was recently targeted under a visa ban tied to allegations of online censorship.
The ruling comes after Imran Ahmed, a lawful permanent US resident and the CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, filed an emergency legal challenge alleging constitutional violations.
The case is part of a broader dispute between the administration and European figures involved in regulating online hate speech and misinformation. The court's order temporarily halts any removal action while the case proceeds.
Legal challenge and court intervention
Ahmed filed a complaint against Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi, seeking to prevent what his lawyers described as the "imminent prospect of unconstitutional arrest" and deportation.
According to the filing, Ahmed lives lawfully in Washington, DC, with his US citizen wife and child and has not violated immigration laws.
“The government’s actions are the latest in a string of escalating and unjustifiable assaults on the First Amendment and other rights, one that cannot stand basic legal scrutiny,” the complaint states.
It further argues that “immigration enforcement—here, immigration detention and threatened deportation — may not be used as a tool to punish noncitizen speakers who express views disfavored by the current administration.”
Judge Vernon S Broderick of the Southern District of New York granted Ahmed's request for a temporary restraining order, barring authorities from detaining or removing him before a full hearing can take place.
The complaint also references other recent cases of foreign nationals, including Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk, who allegedly faced deportation after engaging in protected speech.
“The government has no power to punish Mr Ahmed for his research, protected speech, and advocacy,” the filing adds, arguing that officials cannot bypass constitutional protections by invoking vague foreign policy concerns.
Roberta Kaplan, Ahmed's legal counsel, said the State Department's actions were “unjustified and blatantly unconstitutional.”
Visa ban hits five Europeans over alleged censorship efforts
Ahmed is one of five European nationals placed under a visa ban earlier this week.
The group includes former European Union commissioner Thierry Breton, Global Disinformation Index CEO Clare Melford, and HateAid leaders Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon.
US officials alleged that these individuals were involved in coordinated efforts to pressure American technology companies to censor or suppress certain viewpoints.
On Tuesday, Rubio accused the group of leading “organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose.”
He wrote on X, “Today, @StateDept will take steps to bar leading figures of the global censorship-industrial complex from entering the United States.”
Undersecretary of State Sarah Rogers echoed the message, warning that “if you spend your career fomenting censorship of American speech, you’re unwelcome on American soil.”
