A court case filed by the Stanford Daily newspaper against U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is facing a one-month delay following a Nov. 19 hearing at the San Jose Federal Courthouse.
The court will meet again on Jan. 6 after the judge and attorneys resolve procedural issues related to the plaintiff’s complaint.
In August, the Daily filed a complaint challenging the government’s use of the Immigration and Naturalization Act to revoke visas and deport legally present noncitizens for their political speech.
Stanford Daily Managing Editor Rani Chor told Anthro in the hallway outside the courtroom that protecting student voices is important because immigrants should be able to share their political perspectives.
“[We live] in a country that traditionally has had non-citizens be very vocal about their opinions, and that’s highly contributed to American culture,” Chor said.
Noël Wise, the judge for this case, said she understands the weight of this lawsuit and its implications on free speech rights.
“The court is prepared to address that substance quickly,” Wise said. “The idea that the First Amendment speech could be chilled or punished by the government is very troubling indeed.”