A US judge has halted attempts by the Trump administration to detain or deport Imran Ahmed, the British chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). The ruling followed a complaint filed by Ahmed against senior administration figures, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi, arguing that his removal would be unconstitutional.
Judge Vernon S Broderick of the southern district of New York granted a temporary restraining order, preventing authorities from detaining Ahmed before his case is heard. Ahmed, a friend of Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, lives lawfully in Washington DC with his American wife and daughter.
Ahmed is one of five European nationals targeted by the US State Department in the past week, accused of leading efforts to pressure technology companies into censoring or suppressing American viewpoints. Rubio specifically named them in connection with what he described as organised attempts to coerce American platforms. A State Department official, Sarah Rogers, wrote on X that those who spend their careers “fomenting censorship of American speech” are unwelcome on American soil.
The CCDH has previously clashed with Elon Musk, who unsuccessfully sued the organisation over its reporting on the rise of racist, antisemitic and extremist content on his platform, X. In a statement, Ahmed said his life’s work is to protect children from unregulated social media and AI, and to fight antisemitism online. He added that he is proud to call the United States home and is fighting to prevent his unlawful deportation. His lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, described the State Department’s actions as “unjustified and blatantly unconstitutional”.
Also targeted is Clare Melford, a UK-based campaigner who runs the Global Disinformation Index, which Musk has called on to be shut down. A British government spokesperson said that while every country has the right to set its own visa rules, the UK supports laws and institutions working to keep the internet free from the most harmful content.
