American Association of University Professors, et al. v. Rubio, et al.

Beginning in the spring of 2025, the Trump administration began targeting lawfully present noncitizens like Rümeysa Öztürk, Mahmoud Khalil, and Moshen Mahdawi for deportation based on their protected speech. In March 2025, the American Association of University Professors and other organizations filed a lawsuit against the administration seeking to enjoin a "policy" of targeting pro-Palestinians for deportation for protected speech.

Following a bench trial, on September 30, 2025 the district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and held the First Amendment prohibits deporting noncitizens based on protected speech.

On August 12, FIRE - joined by the Cato Institute, the National Coalition Against Censorship, PEN America, The Rutherford Institute, and the First Amendment Lawyers Association - filed a "friend of the court" brief urging the First Circuit to affirm the district court's holding. The brief traces protection of noncitizen speech back to America's founding and explains our nation's commitment over the centuries to protecting noncitizens' speech.