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A U.S. judge has issued a temporary block on the detention of Imran Ahmed, a British social media campaigner who initiated legal action against the U.S. government following the revocation of his visa.
Ahmed, the founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, was among five individuals who were denied U.S. visas after the Trump administration alleged they sought to “coerce” tech platforms into censoring free speech.
The decision sparked criticism from European leaders who defended the work of organizations monitoring online content.
Ahmed, a U.S. permanent resident, had expressed concerns that detention and potential deportation would separate him from his American wife and child. Following the judge’s ruling, he told BBC News that he would not be “bullied.”
Senator Marco Rubio previously stated that the visa denials were due to concerns that these individuals were organizing efforts to pressure U.S. platforms to censor and “punish American viewpoints they oppose.”
Ahmed filed a legal complaint on Wednesday against officials, including Rubio and former U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi, challenging the sanctions against him.
According to court documents reviewed by the BBC, U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick granted Ahmed’s request for a temporary restraining order on Thursday.
The judge’s order also temporarily prevents officials from detaining Ahmed without providing him an opportunity for his case to be heard.
The BBC has reached out to the State Department and White House for comment.
In a statement to AFP news agency, a State Department spokesperson said: “The Supreme Court and Congress have repeatedly made clear: the United States is under no obligation to allow foreign aliens to come to our country or reside here.”
Ahmed stated: “I will not be bullied away from my life’s work of fighting to keep children safe from social media’s harm and stopping antisemitism online.”
His lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, emphasized the significance of the judge’s swift decision.
“The federal government can’t deport a green card holder like Imran Ahmed, with a wife and young child who are American, simply because it doesn’t like what he has to say,” she said.
In 2023, Ahmed’s center was sued by Elon Musk’s social media company following a report on the rise of hate speech on the platform after Musk’s acquisition of the firm, now known as X.
While the case was dismissed, an appeal is currently pending.
Speaking on BBC News Channel on Friday evening, Ahmed said: “We were sued by Elon Musk a couple of years ago, unsuccessfully; a court found that he was trying to impinge on our First Amendment rights to free speech by using law to try and silence our accountability work.”
Ahmed described the past few days as “rather confusing.”
He stated that the Center for Countering Digital Hate “has worked with administrations both Republican and Democrat” and believes he is now being targeted because the organizations his group researches disapprove of being held accountable.
“This does seem to be… perhaps even an error, goaded on by some of the tech companies, the social media platforms, the AI platforms that the Center for Countering Digital Hate studies and holds accountable.”
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