ACLU of Maine Demands Topsham Return Illegally Confiscated Campaign Signs

NEW YORK, NY – A federal court in New Jersey issued an opinion ruling that the foreign policy grounds on which Mahmoud Khalil was detained are likely unconstitutional. The court held that Khalil is likely to succeed on the merits of his unconstitutional vagueness argument. The court asked for additional information in order to rule further on his outstanding request for release from detention. Judge Michael E. Farbiarz noted that the foreign policy charges in Mahmoud’s case are “unprecedented” and likely unconstitutional, stating: “the issue now before the Court has been this: does the Constitution allow the Secretary of State to use Section 1227, as applied through the determination, to try to remove the Petitioner from the United States? The Court’s answer: likely not.” In response to the opinion, Mr. Khalil’s legal team vowed to fight on, stating: “The district court held what we already knew: Secretary Rubio's weaponization of immigration law to punish Mahmoud and others like him is likely unconstitutional. We will work as quickly as possible to provide the court the additional information it requested supporting our effort to free Mahmoud or otherwise return him to his wife and newborn son. Every day Mahmoud spends languishing in an ICE detention facility in Jena, Louisiana, is an affront to justice, and we won't stop working until he is free.” The legal team awaits a full and final ruling on the preliminary injunction motion, in addition to Mr. Khalil’s pending motions for release on bail and for him to be returned to New Jersey. In a broader warning, the judge wrote, “If Section 1227 can apply, here, to the Petitioner, then other, similar statutes can also one day be made to apply. Not just in the removal context, as to foreign nationals. But also in the criminal context, as to everyone.” On March 8, the Trump administration and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) illegally arrested and detained Mr. Khalil in direct retaliation for his advocacy for Palestinian rights at Columbia University. Shortly after, DHS transferred him 1,400 miles away to a Louisiana detention facility — ripping him away from his wife and legal counsel. Since being unlawfully detained, Mr. Khalil has been forced to miss the birth of his first child and other irreplaceable moments in his family's life. Mr. Khalil is represented by Dratel & Lewis, the Center for Constitutional Rights, CLEAR, Van Der Hout LLP, Washington Square Legal Services, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of New Jersey, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

BOSTON – A federal judge today ordered that the government must restore all patient safety research authored by private individuals and removed by the Trump administration from a federal website for including words like “LGBTQ” and “trans(gender).” The new court ruling comes out of a case brought by two Harvard Medical School doctors after their articles were removed from Patient Safety Network (PSNet), a government-run website for doctors and medical researchers to share information about medical errors, misdiagnoses, and patient outcomes. The Trump administration removed the papers as part of a broad takedown of information that the government contends promotes “gender ideology,” including any articles containing certain prohibited terms, including “LGBTQ” and “trans(gender).” “We are very gratified and encouraged by this affirmation of the First Amendment, academic freedom, and the illegality of the actions by the Trump administration in attempting to censor and take down our peer-reviewed patient safety articles,” said Dr. Gordon Schiff. “We hope it gives others in the educational, research, and medical communities the courage to not be intimidated in resisting these unacceptable actions by the Trump administration that, unopposed, will cost many thousands of lives. While re-posting of our articles to PSNet will reverse small, but important injustices, the larger attacks on public health and patient safety and health care access must also be resisted and reversed." “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to stand up for not just our rights, but those of other physicians, scientists, researchers, students, and all those who have been illegally silenced or engaged in self-censorship out of fear of this administration and the dismantling of our government and our democracy,” said Dr. Celeste Royce. “As an educator and a physician, I will continue to fight misinformation and falsehoods put out by the administration, and I will continue to advocate for the rights of my patients and my students. I hope our victory today will inspire others to continue to fight against all the injustices happening, and fight for the civil and human rights of the LGBTQ community, immigrants, and all the communities this administration is trying to silence and suppress.” Earlier this year, the Trump administration issued an executive order requiring federal agencies to remove all statements that “promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology.” The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) subsequently issued guidance directing all agencies to “[t]ake down all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology.” PSNet’s removal of articles based on blacklisted terms followed. According to the new court decision, the doctors “are likely to succeed in proving that the removal of their articles was a textbook example of viewpoint discrimination by the defendants in violation of the First Amendment.” “Our clients were faced with an impossible choice: remove their patient safety research from PSNet entirely or change the words and messages to fit what this administration agrees with,” said Rachel Davidson, staff attorney with the ACLU of Massachusetts. “Republishing their articles is a victory for free speech and public health. The government can’t censor medical research solely because it disfavors certain viewpoints.” The articles removed include “Endometriosis: A Common and Commonly Missed and Delayed Diagnosis,” co-authored by plaintiff Dr. Celeste Royce, which included a sentence about diagnosis in transgender and gender-nonconforming people, and “Multiple Missed Opportunities for Suicide Risk Assessment in Emergency and Primary Care Settings,” co-authored by plaintiff Dr. Gordon Schiff, which included a sentence about heightened risk in LGBTQ communities. The federal judge ordered that these articles be restored in full within seven days, as well as all other content authored by private parties that was removed from PSNet pursuant to the implementation of the executive order. “This is a victory for our clients, for free speech, and for scientific integrity,” said Scarlet Kim, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “The First Amendment protects against the removal of our clients’ research solely because the government disagrees with its message. PSNet’s mandate is to provide information that protects patients – the government can’t pick and choose which information to share based on ideology.” “As the Court saw clearly, what happened to our clients was 'a flagrant violation' of the First Amendment,” said Ben Menke, a third-year student in the Yale Law School Media Freedom & Information Access Clinic. “We're proud to represent our clients, who stood up for their constitutional rights in order to protect the safety and dignity of transgender patients across the country. This outcome shows that in the United States of America, we don't tolerate Orwellian speech edicts.” The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the ACLU of Massachusetts.

JENA, LA — In a decision that underscores the government’s ongoing retaliation against Mahmoud Khalil in response to his advocacy in support of Palestinian rights, officials from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and private prison contractor GEO Group have refused to allow a contact visit between him and his family. The officials cite a blanket no-contact visitation policy at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center (CLIPC) and unspecified “security concerns” relating to the presence of a mother and newborn baby in an unsecure part of the facility. ICE’s refusal comes after multiple requests from Mr. Khalil’s legal team that point to federal policies explicitly encouraging contact visits between detained parents and their children. Mr. Khalil’s team has also noted that permission for family visits like these are routinely granted at facilities like the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey, where his attorneys have requested he be transferred. Mr. Khalil’s wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, traveled over 1400 miles from New York to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center (CLIPC) in Jena, Louisiana, bringing their newborn child in the hopes of a contact visit — one where her husband could meet, touch, and hold his son for the very first time. Instead, facility administrators have repeatedly denied these requests and have insisted the visit proceed behind glass, where no human touch is possible. “I am furious at the cruelty and inhumanity of this system that dares to call itself just,” said Dr. Noor Abdalla. “After flying over a thousand miles to Louisiana with our newborn son, his very first flight, all so his father could finally hold him in his arms, ICE has denied us even this most basic human right. This is not just heartless. It is deliberate violence, the calculated cruelty of a government that tears families apart without remorse. And I cannot ignore the echoes of this pain in the stories of Palestinian families, torn apart by Israeli military prisons and bombs, denied dignity, denied life. Our struggle is not isolated. This system is unjust, and we will fight until Mahmoud is home." The facility's refusal contradicts ICE’s own directives, including ICE Directive 11064.3, which affirms the importance of minimizing disruptions to family life and preserving parental rights. The Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) also explicitly encourage contact visits, especially where young children and long travel distances are involved. These very same standards are also routinely upheld in other states — including New Jersey — where detained parents are allowed daily visits and to embrace their children. Mr. Khalil has a motion pending before the federal court overseeing his case in New Jersey for his release and transfer to the Elizabeth Detention Facility, which is close to Mr. Khalil’s family. In a filing with that federal court today, he has made a request to that court to order ICE to permit a contact visit with his family. “The government chose to arrest and detain Mahmoud thousands of miles away in the Louisiana detention gulags to punish him for his support for Palestinian human rights, and is doubling down on their retaliatory punishment by denying him the most elementary human contact with his wife and child,” said Baher Azmy, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “ICE leadership and elected officials must act to remedy this grotesque and unnecessary inhumanity for Mahmoud – and for all others.” This denial comes just weeks after ICE denied Mr. Khalil’s request to be at his wife’s side as she went into labor, causing him to miss the birth of their son. ICE has also barred press access to his court hearing, refused to grant virtual access for those who want to listen, and blocked his attorney from using electronic materials during critical proceedings. “Mahmoud Khalil deserves to hold his son. Noor Abdalla deserves to see her husband meet their child. And we, as a country, deserve better than policies rooted in cruelty,” said Nora Ahmed, legal director of the ACLU of Louisiana. Despite this heartless decision, Dr. Abdalla still plans to attend her husband’s immigration hearing in person on Thursday, May 22. Mr. Khalil’s legal team will be holding a virtual press briefing tonight at 5:30 pm ET (register here).

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – After reuniting with his family on May 14, 2025 following a federal order that he be released from unlawful immigration detention in Texas, Dr. Badar Khan Suri and his wife Maphaz Saleh released the following statements today: Said Dr. Badar Khan Suri: “The moment I stepped out of the detention center, I inhaled deeply, a breath of freedom I had been deprived of for two, long months. That simple act, something so ordinary, felt extraordinary. As I looked around, my eyes met the faces of those who had stood by me. Their presence was powerful, their support unwavering. In that overwhelming moment, my heart swelled with emotion: I wanted to cry, not out of pain, but out of pure, uncontainable joy. It was a feeling of release, of being embraced by hope and solidarity after weeks of isolation. “After months of sorrow, loss, and pain, when I saw my kids, it was like an oasis in the desert, and in their arms I found my life again. It was a surreal experience: I forgot every suffering after hugging them. I was able to attain my freedom thanks to the dedicated efforts of my attorneys, and my steadfast faith in the Constitution and the judiciary. I hope very soon Mahmood will be holding his son, and all other students still in detention will reunite with their loved ones.” Said Maphaz Saleh: “I’m overwhelmed with gratitude to see the smiles back on my children’s faces. They missed their father more than words can express. Now that he’s finally back with them, their joy has returned. I wish I could give a heartfelt hug to the honorable judge, the attorneys, and every supporter whose efforts made this moment possible, a moment that should never have been delayed by injustice in the first place. And yet, our joy is not complete. We cannot truly celebrate while Mahmoud Khalil remains behind bars, unable to hold his newborn baby or stand beside his wife, who is no doubt carrying an unbearable burden in his absence. No parent should be separated from their children this way. No family should suffer under the weight of fear-driven policies. We will not stop speaking out. We will not rest until Mahmoud and every innocent soul behind those walls is free.” Previews of photos of their reunion at Dulles International Airport on May 14, 2025 are available here. To request high-resolution versions of the photos for media use, please contact press@acluva.org. About the ACLU of Virginia The ACLU of Virginia promotes civil liberties and civil rights for everyone in the Commonwealth through public education, litigation, and advocacy with the goal of securing freedom and equality for all. For more information on the ACLU of Virginia go to www.acluva.org.