Trump locked in new legal battle over accused censorship advocate living in US
Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) adn a U.S. permanent resident, secured a federal temporary restraining order preventing immigration authorities from detaining or arresting him after the State Department announced sanctions against him and four other alleged foreign “censorship advocates.” U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick granted the order Thursday and set a telephone hearing for Dec.29,after Ahmed sued,arguing the threatened detention and removal would be unconstitutional retaliation for his speech and advocacy. The State Department said the sanctions-including visa restrictions and possible removal proceedings-respond to efforts to “coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints,” a move framed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as protecting U.S. foreign-policy interests. CCDH denies wrongdoing, saying it fights online harms; critics and some Republican lawmakers accuse the group of pressuring platforms to silence conservatives and subpoenaed it in 2023. The case is part of a broader pattern of the Trump administration using immigration provisions to target foreign nationals it deems harmful to U.S. interests,many of whom have challenged removal efforts in court.
Trump locked in new legal battle over accused censorship advocate living in US
An alleged foreign national censorship advocate who lives in the U.S. received a court order late Thursday blocking the Trump administration from detaining him pending a hearing next week, days after officials announced sanctions against a group of alleged European censorship advocates.
Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, filed a lawsuit against the administration Wednesday, fearing the “imminent prospect of unconstitutional arrest, punitive detention, and expulsion,” after sanctions were announced Tuesday evening. U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick granted the request for a temporary restraining order Thursday, blocking Ahmed from being detained or arrested by immigration authorities pending a hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday.
The State Department announced sanctions on Ahmed and four other foreign nationals Tuesday over their alleged actions to “coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.”
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“These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states—in each case targeting American speakers and American companies,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Tuesday. “As such, I have determined that their entry, presence, or activities in the United States have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
The announcement mentioned the sanctions would include visa restrictions and removal proceedings for those present in the United States. Ahmed, a permanent resident, is believed to be the only person in the group of five presently in the U.S. His effort to prevent his removal starts a legal battle with the Trump administration.
“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,” Ahmed’s lawsuit said. “Simply put, 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.”
Broderick’s brief Christmas Day order barred the Trump administration from arresting or detaining Ahmed “pending further order of the court,” setting a hearing via telephone for Dec. 29 at 4:30 p.m.
“I will not be bullied away from my life’s work of fighting to keep children safe from social media’s harm and stopping antisemitism online. Onward,” Ahmed said in a statement after the order was issued.
Ahmed’s group, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, has been accused of promoting censorship and pressuring platforms to remove conservative voices, while the group claims it is combatting the spread of disinformation online. As part of its investigation into censorship efforts against conservatives, House Republicans subpoenaed the group in 2023 for communications it had with the Biden administration.
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The lawsuit marks the latest fight between the Trump administration and foreign nationals it claims pose “serious adverse foreign policy consequences” and warrant removal. The clause of the Immigration and Nationality Act allowing for removal of such individuals has been used by the administration on various foreign nationals, mostly over anti-Israel protests and unruly conduct related to those protests.
Many of the individuals targeted with that provision have launched lawsuits against efforts to remove them from the U.S., and have been able to delay expulsion from the country – for now. The efforts have been part of President Donald Trump’s wider immigration agenda, aimed at removing illegal immigrants and noncitizens who act to counter to U.S. foreign policy.
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