British campaigner launches legal challenge against Trump administration after deportation threat | Freedom of speech
A British anti-disinformation campaigner close to Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has launched a legal challenge against the Trump administration after he was told he could face deportation from the US over free speech.
Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center to Counter Digital Hate (CCDH), filed the complaint against top Trump allies, including secretary of state Marco Rubio and attorney general Pam Bondi, in an attempt to prevent what he said would be an unconstitutional detention and removal.
The court filing, filed in the southern district of New York, alleges that Ahmed was targeted because of his organization’s work examining social media companies, including Elon Musk’s X, in violation of his First Amendment rights.
It is also argued that there was no credible basis for the detention and deportation of Ahmed, who lives legally in Washington DC with his American wife and child and is a friend of No. 10 Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney.
CCDH has previously come under Musk’s wrath over reports describing the rise of racist, anti-Semitic and extremist content on X since he took over the platform. Musk unsuccessfully tried to sue the organization last year before labeling it a “criminal organization.”
Ahmed is one of five Europeans targeted by the US State Department last week. They are accused of leading efforts to pressure tech companies to censor or suppress American viewpoints.
Rubio accused the five, including former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, of leading “organized efforts to force American platforms to censor, demonize and suppress American perspectives they oppose.”
State Department official Sarah Rogers said Published on X: “Our message is clear: If you spend your career promoting censorship of American speech, you are not welcome on American soil.”
The sanctions are seen as the latest attack on European regulations targeting hate speech and misinformation. Campaigners in the UK have warned that the British government could be further targeted if the Trump administration steps up its attacks on technology regulations.
In a statement, Ahmed said: “My life’s work is to protect children from the dangers of unregulated social media and artificial intelligence, and to combat the spread of antisemitism online. “This mission has brought me face to face with big tech executives on many occasions, and Elon Musk in particular.
“I am proud to call the United States my home. My wife and daughter are Americans, and instead of spending Christmas with them, I am fighting to prevent my unlawful deportation from my own country.”
Roberta Kaplan, Ahmed’s legal counsel, added: “The State Department’s actions here are unjust and clearly unconstitutional.
“Imran is proud to call the United States home. Instead of spending Christmas with his wife and child, he was forced to spend the holiday fighting to avoid unlawful deportation. It’s hard to think of anything more un-American than that.”
Ahmed was sanctioned along with UK-based Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). Musk also called for GDI to be shut down as he criticized right-wing websites for spreading disinformation.
A British government spokesman said: “While each country has the right to set its own visa rules, we support the laws and institutions that work to keep the internet free of the most harmful content.”
