A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a policy that threatened to deport non-US citizens working in content moderation, misinformation research, and trust and safety. The preliminary injunction, granted by US District Judge James Boasberg on Tuesday, halts the State Department's visa restrictions until a lawsuit by the Coalition for Independent Technology Research (CITR) is resolved. The ruling marks a significant victory for researchers who argued the policy violated their First Amendment rights.
Policy targeted researchers without evidence of foreign ties
The policy, on its face, authorized immigration investigations into individuals suspected of helping foreign adversaries manipulate US public opinion by suppressing speech. However, the State Department failed to prove that any of the five targeted researchers had connections to foreign powers. Judge Boasberg noted that the policy had "no clear stopping point short of the [content moderation] field itself," effectively chilling research and advocacy. The government did not dispute that the policy caused irreparable harm, focusing instead on arguing that CITR lacked standing.
CITR presented evidence that the policy disrupted its work, including impaired reporting, increased costs, and diminished public engagement. Boasberg ruled that the policy likely violated the First Amendment by penalizing researchers based on their viewpoints. "Much of American political debate consists of disagreement over whether a practice is liberty or regulation, safety or suppression, accountability or censorship," he wrote. "The First Amendment does not permit officials to resolve that dispute by attaching legal burdens to the side they condemn."
Researchers accuse administration of bowing to Big Tech
Among the first targets were researchers who criticized X, the platform owned by Trump ally Elon Musk. Former European Commissioner Thierry Breton was targeted for sending a letter to X about the Digital Services Act, but the State Department found no evidence of European overreach. Other targets included Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), who faced deportation threats. Ahmed suggested that Big Tech interests influenced the administration's actions, stating, "Censorship occurs when the government tries to revoke the green cards of people whose views its biggest donors would prefer not to hear."
Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon, CEOs of the German nonprofit HateAid, were also targeted for their work helping victims of online abuse. In a joint statement, they said the ruling "sends a powerful message" that independent researchers must not be punished for studying online risks. The injunction applies broadly, not just to CITR members, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio had threatened to expand the list of targeted researchers. The lawsuit continues, with researchers still fearing broader retaliation.