WASHINGTON—Attorneys for Stanford University’s student newspaper and two of its columnists filed a lawsuit against two officials in the Trump administration on Aug. 6 in opposition to the federal immigration enforcement practices.

The plaintiffs, who, apart from Stanford Daily, are unnamed, alleged that the activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the State Department—which are apprehending foreign nationals as well as canceling visas for international students—are having a chilling effect on free speech and expression and have led to self-censorship.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are named as defendants in the suit.

“Secretary Rubio and the Trump administration’s war against noncitizens’ freedom of speech is intended to send an unmistakable message: Watch what you say, or you could be next,” reads the complaint by the plaintiffs.

The Department of Homeland Security said the lawsuit is meritless.

“DHS doesn’t arrest people based on protected speech, so the plaintiffs’ premise is incorrect. ... DHS takes its role in removing threats to the public and our communities seriously, and the idea that enforcing federal law in that regard constitutes some kind of prior restraint on speech is laughable,” wrote Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement to the media.

The plaintiffs, who are foreign nationals, are both present in the country lawfully and are not under any criminal proceeding, according to the complaint, which would not necessarily render them deportable.

The plaintiffs cited the Israel–Hamas conflict in Gaza as an issue they are unable to write about due to such fears of removal.

The Trump administration has sparked debates over its removal operations against individual student activists accused of being anti-Semitic or pro-terrorist in pro-Palestinian campus protests against Israel’s war with terrorist group Hamas after the latter launched deadly attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The United States has broad authority to revoke a foreign national’s status, which may be revoked for various statutory reasons.

The Stanford Daily and its two columnists are represented by attorneys with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Several other free speech organizations, including both progressive and conservative groups, have also come out in support of the plaintiffs.

“The First Amendment bars the government from punishing protected speech—period,” Will Creeley, the legal director of FIRE, said in a statement.

“In our free country, you shouldn’t have to show your papers to speak your mind,” Creeley added.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the name of the organization providing legal representation for Stanford Daily and the two columnists. The Epoch Times regrets the error.