British Campaigner Challenges Deportation Order by Trump Administration
Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), has filed a legal complaint in the Southern District of New York to prevent his deportation by the Trump administration. The complaint targets senior Trump allies, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi. Ahmed, who lives lawfully in Washington, DC with his American wife and child, argues that his deportation would be unlawful and violate his First Amendment rights, as it is aimed at his work scrutinising social media platforms such as X.
Ahmed is reported to be a friend of UK No. 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and is among five Europeans recently sanctioned by the US State Department for efforts to pressure tech firms to censor American viewpoints. These sanctions, which include figures such as Thierry Breton, have been framed by Secretary Rubio and State Department official Sarah Rogers as attempts to foment censorship of American speech and are unwelcome on US soil.
The sanctions are viewed as part of a broader campaign against European regulations addressing hate speech and misinformation, potentially impacting the UK government's stance on tech regulation tensions. Ahmed's legal counsel, Roberta Kaplan, describes these actions as unjustified and unconstitutional. Meanwhile, the UK government has stated its support for visa rules and laws designed to keep the internet free from the most harmful content.
