A federal judge heard the first arguments Tuesday in a free speech lawsuit against the Trump administration, filed by two Cornell graduate students and a professor.
The hearing comes just days after one of the plaintiffs, grad student and pro-Palestinian activist Momodou Taal, was informed that his student visa was revoked.
The lawsuit, filed by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, calls for an injunction on two executive orders they argue “authorize deportation or prosecution based on protected speech.”
The lawsuit says language in those orders violate Taal and other plaintiffs’ rights to freedom of speech and due process, by barring non-citizens from “criticizing the U.S. government, its institutions, American culture, or the government of Israel.”
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are two Cornell graduate students, Momodou Taal and Sriram Parasurama, and a professor, Dr. Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ. Both Parasurama and Ngũgĩ are U.S. citizens.
Taal is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Gambia. Since filing his lawsuit on March 15, Taal has been “invited” by the U.S. Department of Justice to appear at Homeland Security offices and surrender to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
Court filings from the Justice Department say that Taal’s student visa was revoked on March 14, a day before the lawsuit was filed. However, Taal was told by email on March 21 that his visa was revoked.
Since his visa was revoked, ICE has “attempted to locate” and arrest Taal in Ithaca, but has not been successful, according to filings.
Court documents referenced Cornell University disciplinary actions as reasons for why Taal’s visa was revoked, including his suspensions from the university for his participation in an encampment protest last year, and a protest that shut down a career fair featuring weapons manufacturers. Taal was not charged with a crime in relation to either incident.
Court filings say the U.S. Department of State revoked Taal’s visa because he had “been involved with disruptive protests and had engaged in an escalating pattern of behavior, disregarding university policies and creating a hostile environment for Jewish students.”
Chris Godshall-Bennett is one of Taal’s attorneys and the legal director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. He said Trump’s executive orders “operationalize a conflation of antisemitism with any criticism of Israel.”
“I'm just struck by the fact that, you know, I'm Jewish, and I find myself in a situation where I'm defending someone against people trying to defend me from him. It’s a ridiculous situation,” Godshall-Bennett told reporters after the hearing on Tuesday.
He called the government’s actions an attempt to stifle speech.
“There's nothing more important than the restrictions on the government from arresting you and putting you away in a box because you said something that they do not like,” he said.
After hearing arguments Tuesday, Judge Elizabeth Coombe will issue a decision on whether to grant a temporary restraining order blocking the government from detaining Taal.
Taal was not present at the hearing. His lawyers said that was in part out of concern that he could be detained at the courthouse before the judge issued a decision.
“Our concern is that the executive branch is not following the law, and we intend to follow the law, but the [federal] courts are the ones who get to decide that,” attorney Eric Lee said.
The two other plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Cornell graduate student Sriram Parasurama and Dr. Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ, a professor, were present at the hearing and spoke with supporters outside the federal building afterward.
“Is this the country we want to live in, where a plaintiff, out of fear of government or revenge, cannot attend his own legal proceedings?” Mũkoma asked.
Lee said that Taal is a test case for free speech rights in the United States.
“They start with someone who's a non-citizen. They start with someone who said something that the powers that be find difficult to deal with, that is calling what Israel is doing to the people of Palestine a genocide,” he said. “But it doesn't end with Momodou Taal. It starts with him. Next, it'll be you.”
Lawyers for the Justice Department argued in court that the administration’s executive orders do not violate free speech. But they said that because Taal’s visa was revoked a day before the lawsuit was filed, the federal court no longer has jurisdiction over his case.
As Judge Coombe considered the arguments in the case in Syracuse, a federal judge in New York city ruled Tuesday to temporarily block the government from detaining a Columbia University student from South Korea. Yunseo Chung is facing potential deportation for her involvement in a pro-Palestinian protest.
This comes after the ICE detention of former Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and a lawful permanent resident, was taken from his apartment by ICE earlier this month.
