Judge Preska in the Southern District of New York dismissed Imran Ahmed's First Amendment challenge to his potential deportation.
Posted by The Lawfare Podcast, Checked
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- Said
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- Confidence
- 88%
The Lawfare PodcastSep 14, 2026
Multiple sources confirm that Judge Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York dismissed Imran Ahmed's lawsuit, which included First Amendment claims, against his potential detention and deportation, on September 8, 2026.
What was said
… It's a preliminary injunction and a 705 a) interim stay under the APA, and of course these are all Democratic appointees, so it has no presidential weight. All right, finally, uh, Judge Preska in the Southern District of New York has thrown out, uh, Imran Ahmed's First Amendment challenge to possible, uh, deportation. Roger, remind us who Imran Ahmed's, uh, is and, uh, why, uh, he thinks the First Amendment might prevent his deportation. …
The Lawfare Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Reuters reports that Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan dismissed Ahmed's lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's ability to detain and deport him, finding she lacked jurisdiction over his free speech and due process claims under the Constitution.[1]
Supports. Visaverge reports the dismissal occurred on September 8, 2026, and that the case included First Amendment and due process arguments against detention and deportation authority.[2]
Supports. Ars Technica reports that Preska ruled Congress had removed courts' authority to block the initiation of removal proceedings, so she could not grant Ahmed's permanent injunction request.[3]
Context. The dismissal was on jurisdictional grounds, not the merits; Preska kept a restraining order in place for five business days to allow an appeal, and Ahmed appealed within the following day or two.[1][4][5]
Context. Ahmed's own statement and a commentary piece confirm the dismissal and describe the First Amendment basis of his challenge, but these are partisan or self-interested sources and are used only for context.[4][6]
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 5 not rated
- 1US judge dismisses suit by British anti-disinformation ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2US Judge Dismisses Deportation Suit Filed by Activist Imran Ahmed ...visaverge.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3Online hate researcher keeps hammering X despite deportation threatarstechnica.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4The Court That Could Not Lookashtalks.substack.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 5Judge Dismisses Deportation Suit, Allows Free Speech Claim to Proceed | LegalTech Digestlegaltechdigest.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 6“We will not be silenced”: Imran Ahmed responds to court rulingcounterharm.com · not rated · cited for: context
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