An American judge rules that the Trump administration violated the Constitution by targeting supporters of Palestine.

A U.S. federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated the Constitution by targeting foreign students and academics for their participation in protests and campaigns supporting Palestinians to condemn the Israeli war on Gaza.

Judge William Young, from the district court in Boston, stated that the Trump administration adopted an illegal policy that involved revoking the visas of foreign students and faculty members who engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy, detaining them, and deporting them.

Young considered this a suppression of free speech and a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The U.S. judge clarified that the ruling at this stage is limited to proving the illegality of the policy in question, noting that he will later determine the necessary measures to address the issue.

Lawyers for faculty groups urged the court to issue orders preventing the Trump administration from threatening to take such actions.

The Trump administration took strict measures against protests in the country regarding the Israeli genocide in Gaza, cutting funding to universities and seeking to deport some pro-Palestinian activists under the pretext of anti-Semitism.

The campaign against foreign students began with the arrest of Palestinian-origin student Mahmoud Khalil last March, and later expanded to include the detention and deportation of others, with judges ordering the release of detainees in most cases.

The U.S. administration exerted significant pressure, including threats to cut federal funding to several prominent universities, such as Columbia and Harvard, to push them to target students and teachers involved in activities supporting the Palestinian cause.