A federal judge in Boston ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration violated the Constitution with its effort to deport critics of Israel, and affirmed that non-citizens in the US legally have the same right to free speech as Americans. “This case — perhaps the most important ever to fall within the jurisdiction of this district court — squarely presents the issue whether non-citizens lawfully present here in the United States actually have the same free speech rights as the rest of us. The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally ‘yes, they do,” said District Judge William Young, who was nominated by President Reagan. The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought by several university associations that alleged the arrest of college students and faculty who participated in pro-Palestine protests violated the First Amendment and had a chilling effect on speech. “He rejected the argument that non-citizens lack First Amendment protections, correctly observing that it serves as a restraint on government, without respect to the immigration status of the speaker,” Younes added.