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A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk, who faces deportation for writing an op-ed critical of Israel. 

“Her continued detention cannot stand,” said Judge William Sessions III.

Judge Sessions explained the government provided no evidence Öztürk engaged in violence or any other crimes. “The reason she’s been detained is simply and purely the expression she made,” he said. The judge also warned her detention chills millions of noncitizens from expressing their views “for fear of being whisked away from their home.”

Below is a statement from FIRESupervising Senior Attorney Conor Fitzpatrick, praising the order:

The court rightly found Öztürk's detention unlawful and an affront to the First Amendment. No one in America — citizen or not — should fear the government’s wrath for speaking their mind.

Last week, FIREwas joined by a nonpartisan coalition that included the National Coalition Against Censorship, Cato, PEN America, and the Rutherford Institute calling for the release of Ms. Öztürk and all others detained and targeted for deportation based on protected speech.