As expected, a pretty wishy washy article from the nytimes. Based on all the recent court orders, I think the law is much more black and white on this than they make it sound. On top of that, notice how they say “lawful permanent residents are also protected by the Constitution,” which is true, but really only half the truth: any human being who exists on US soil is protected by the Constitution. Their legal status has nothing to do with it. So that’s a bit misleading. If you are undocumented you are still entitled to the same legal protections as a US citizen. The fact that many of the people targeted are documented matters of course, but not because they somehow get more legal protections than someone who isn’t. That concept is fundamental to our system.

But legal experts question whether the actions of the targeted students meet this threshold. Lawful permanent residents are also protected by the Constitution, including free speech and due process rights, which could set up a major legal challenge. Lawyers for those whose student visas have been revoked have similarly challenged the administration on constitutional grounds.