Boasberg delivers fresh immigration setback to Trump in free-speech clash

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Federal judge blocks Trump’s H-1B visa fee

A federal judge in Boston ruled against the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, deeming it an unauthorized tax.The fee, which was significantly increased from a typical $2,000-$5,000, aimed to prioritize US citizens in the workforce.The administration is appealing the decision.

Chief U.S.District Judge James Boasberg has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s effort to deny visas to individuals it claims worked to perpetuate censorship against Americans.

Boasberg, who has been a major judicial antagonist across President Donald Trump’s two administrations, handed down a decision earlier this month blocking theState Departmentfrom restricting visas for foreign officials and other foreign nationals considered responsible for or complicit in suppressing American free speech.He found that, while the federal government has a “legitimate interest in responding when foreign officials use sovereign power to suppress protected expression in the United States,” it is possible that the government is engaging in viewpoint discrimination, and thus violating the First Amendment, through its policy.

“The policy, at its core, does not burden all speech about platforms, all research into content moderation, or all advocacy about online harms,” Boasberg wrote.“It presses its enforcement thumb against one side of the scale: the view that platforms should do more to moderate content, label disinformation, restrict abuse, share data with researchers, or take responsibility for the harms their systems amplify.”

GOP LAWMAKERS URGE SUPREME COURT TO STRENGTHEN FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTIONS FOR STREET PREACHERS

Judge James E. Boasberg, chief judge of the Federal District Court in DC, stands for a portrait at E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington, DC on March 16, 2023. (Photo by Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

U.S.District Judge James Boasberg is seen in an official portrait in Washington, D.C., on March 16, 2023.(Photo by Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images)( )

“The Government, in other words, has not set itself against everyone who speaks about platform governance.It has set itself against those whose work favors more moderation rather than less,” he added.

TheState Department’s policy followed a Biden-era controversy where the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which produced alleged “blacklists” of certain news websites, received funding from the federal government.Conservatives have argued that GDI’s ratings contributed to advertisers withholding revenue from conservative outlets and that federal support for the organization implicated free-speech concerns.

The State Department’s policy paused by Boasberg restricted visa access to individuals involved with GDI and similar organizations.

“The Trump Administration believes that aliens who are or were involved or complicit in censoring American citizens must face appropriate consequences,�“An American visa is a privilege, not a right.Specific questions about this lawsuit should be referred to the Department of Justice.”

DC APPEALS COURT ORDERS JUDGE BOASBERG TO HALT TRUMP CONTEMPT PROBE OVER DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

FILE – In this Sept.22, 2014, file photo, a view of the E.Barrett Prettyman U.S.Courthouse in Washington.The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Trump administration, claiming it is violating immigration laws and its own policies by detaining immigrants who have a solid case for seeking asylum in the United States.The ACLU said it was filing a lawsuit Thursday in U.S.District Court in Washington claiming that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is detaining many asylum seekers for months while they await hearings before an immigration judge.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Boasberg has presided over several high-profile cases challenging actions by Trump’s second administration.He temporarily blocked the administration’srapid deportation of Venezuelan migrantsand ordered officials to preserve Signal messages in which senior national security officials discussed planned U.S.strikes in Yemen.

The clashes have made Boasberg a target of Trump, whocalled for his impeachment.

TheJustice Departmentfiled a misconduct complaint against him and accused him of overreach.Chief Justice John Roberts rejected impeachment as a response to an unfavorable ruling.

Boasberg was first nominated to thefederal benchby President Barack Obama in 2010.

JUDGE ORDERS ICE TO FREE WISCONSIN MOSQUE LEADER OVER ‘SUBSTANTIAL’ FREE SPEECH CLAIM AFTER CRITICIZING ISRAEL

US Senator Eric Schmitt, Republican from Missouri, questions FBI Director Kash Patel during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation” on Capitol Hill.(Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)(AFP via Getty Images)

“A visa is a privilege—not a constitutional entitlement,”Sen.Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., wrote of the decision on X.“The First Amendment protects the American people’s right to speak.It does not require the American people to admit foreign actors who work to restrict that speech.”

The case against the State Department’s policy was initially brought by the Coalition for Independent Technology Research (CITR), a nonprofit organization representing academics and journalists.

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While Boasberg issued a stay temporarily preventing the State Department from enforcing its visa policy, he has not yet ruled on the merits of the case, meaning that the policy could still survive his court.Additionally, the State Department could still seek appellate review of his interim order blocking their policy.