Politico reports:

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.

“The answer, I think, is not necessarily, based on their status in the country,” Santora said. “There are nuances to the First Amendment,” Santora said, pointing to concerns about “national security, foreign policy, immigration enforcement and enforcement discretion.”

The exchange came as Young opened what’s expected to be a two-week, non-jury trial on a lawsuit filed in March by the American Association of University Professors and the Middle East Studies Association. The case comes as the Trump administration has intensified its crackdown on pro-Palestinian academics under a rarely used provision of immigration law that allows Secretary of State Marco Rubio to seek the deportation of students on foreign policy grounds. It’s the first major trial over President Donald Trump’s policies since he returned to office in January. [Continue reading…]