WASHINGTON—A federal court today temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing an immigration policy targeting noncitizen researchers, advocates, fact-checkers, and trust and safety workers for visa denials and revocations, detention, and deportation based on their work. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and Protect Democracy filed the lawsuit earlier this year on behalf of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research (CITR).

“This policy punishes researchers for work the public needs and the First Amendment protects,” said Carrie DeCell, senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute, who argued the motion before the court in May. “We’re glad the court recognized the serious constitutional harms this policy is already causing and blocked the government from enforcing it while the case proceeds.”

In today’s decision, Chief Judge James Boasberg concluded that the policy unconstitutionally discriminates against one set of viewpoints in the public debate surrounding social media. As he wrote, the policy “sweeps into the category of ‘foreign censorship’ a substantial measure of the research, reporting, advocacy, and association through which CITR and institutions like it carry out their protected work, and it does so on the basis of viewpoint, in violation of the First Amendment.”

“The Coalition welcomes Judge Boasberg’s decision, which will prevent the government from using immigration threats to intimidate and censor independent researchers,” said Brandi Geurkink, executive director of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research. “Researchers who work independently from the technology industry provide a much-needed window into the real impacts of these products on our lives and in our communities, and this policy has had a deep chilling effect on their work. Our coalition will continue to fight for the right to research free from government censorship.”

CITR members include research organizations, academics, and journalists who study digital platforms and their societal impacts. Their work helps inform public debate and enables consumers, advertisers, platforms, and policymakers to better understand emerging technologies and make more informed decisions.

“Today’s ruling is a major victory in our ongoing fight to protect free speech and independent technology research,” said Nicole Schneidman, tech counsel and policy strategist at Protect Democracy. “The court’s order allows researchers and advocates who study and report on online trust and safety to continue their important work without the fear of retaliatory visa denials or deportations while we continue to advocate for permanent relief. While this decision is an important win, this case is not over. We look forward to continuing to defend the rights of independent technology researchers.”

Read today’s decision by Chief Judge Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia here.

Read more about the case, Coalition for Independent Technology Research v. Rubio, here.

Lawyers on the case include Carrie DeCell, Raya Koreh, Kiran Wattamwar, Anna Diakun, Katie Fallow, Alex Abdo, and Jameel Jaffer for the Knight First Amendment Institute, and Nicole Schneidman, Scott Shuchart, and Deana El-Mallawany for Protect Democracy.

For more information, contact: Gabriel Tyler, [email protected].