Censorship fight Judge: Trump can’t deport researchers just for working in content moderation Disinformation researchers praise ruling blocking Trump visa denials and deportations. Ashley Belanger – Jul 15, 2026 5:26 pm | 9 Protestors participating in a National Day of Protest on President's Day 2025, criticizing Donald Trump's alleged overreaches hurting free speech. Credit: UCG / Contributor | Universal Images Group Protestors participating in a National Day of Protest on President's Day 2025, criticizing Donald Trump's alleged overreaches hurting free speech. Credit: UCG / Contributor | Universal Images Group Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav This week, the Coalition for Independent Technology Research (CITR) won a key battle in its fight to reverse a visa-restriction policy that the Trump administration had used to attempt to revoke green cards and deport non-US citizens who work on misinformation, disinformation, fact-checking, content moderation, compliance, and trust and safety. In an opinion published Tuesday, US District Judge James Boasberg granted a preliminary injunction blocking the State Department from enforcing the policy until the CITR’s lawsuit is resolved. On its face, the policy does not require visa denials or deportations.
Instead, it authorizes immigration investigations into individuals suspected of helping foreign adversaries attempt to manipulate public opinion by suppressing US speech. Over the course of the litigation, the State Department so far has failed to prove that any of the five researchers explicitly targeted under the policy had any connection to a foreign power attempting to censor Americans or manipulate US public debate. Left unchecked, the State Department’s authority seemingly had “no clear stopping point short of the [content moderation] field itself,” Boasberg said. The attacks on trust and safety workers just doing their jobs are particularly concerning, since Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened that his department “stands ready and willing to expand” the list of targeted researchers, Boasberg said.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/judge-trump-cant-deport-researchers-just-for-working-in-content-moderation/
Instead, it authorizes immigration investigations into individuals suspected of helping foreign adversaries attempt to manipulate public opinion by suppressing US speech. Over the course of the litigation, the State Department so far has failed to prove that any of the five researchers explicitly targeted under the policy had any connection to a foreign power attempting to censor Americans or manipulate US public debate. Left unchecked, the State Department’s authority seemingly had “no clear stopping point short of the [content moderation] field itself,” Boasberg said. The attacks on trust and safety workers just doing their jobs are particularly concerning, since Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened that his department “stands ready and willing to expand” the list of targeted researchers, Boasberg said.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/07/judge-trump-cant-deport-researchers-just-for-working-in-content-moderation/