(Politico) A trial on a First Amendment lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s drive to deport pro-Palestinian academics quickly confronted a thorny legal issue Monday: whether foreigners in the U.S. enjoy the same free speech rights as American citizens.
The administration’s stance on that critical question proved murky. Under questioning by U.S. District Judge William Young in his Boston courtroom, Justice Department attorney Victoria Santora initially said non-citizens have the same First Amendment rights as citizens.
“People in the United States share the same rights under the First Amendment,” Santora said.
“That’s an answer and I’ll hold you to that,” Young responded.
However, about 10 minutes later, as Santora concluded her opening statement, she said she may have misspoken and needed to qualify her answer.
