Federal judge in Boston says Trump administration intentionally chilled free speech of international students

A federal judge in Boston issued a scathing ruling Tuesday accusing the Trump administration of collaborating to intentionally chill the free speech rights of international students by arresting some of those who had spoken in out in support of Palestinians.

"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 United States actually have the same free speech rights as the rest of us. The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally 'yes, they do,' " Judge William Young wrote in his ruling.

The ruling was on a lawsuit filed by the American Association of University Professors. The president of the Harvard chapter of AAUP, history professor Kirsten Weld, called the judge's decision  "a historic ruling that couldn't come at a more critical moment." Weld spoke with Deborah Becker on WBUR's All Things Considered.