WASHIGTON  –  A US judge has temporarily blocked the detention of British social media campaigner Imran Ahmed, who took legal action against the US government over having his visa removed. The Center for Countering Digital Hate founder was among five people denied US visas after the Trump administration accused them of seeking to “coerce” tech platforms into censoring free speech. The move brought a backlash from European leaders defending the work of organisations monitoring online content. Ahmed, a US permanent resident, had warned that being detained and possibly deported would tear him away from his American wife and child. Praising the judge’s decision, he told BBC News he would not be “bullied”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said online that the individuals were blocked over concerns that they had organised efforts to pressure US platforms to censor and “punish American viewpoints they oppose”. Mr Ahmed filed a legal complaint on Wednesday against officials including Rubio and US Attorney General Pamela Bondi over the decision to have him sanctioned. In court documents seen by the BBC, US District Judge Vernon S Broderick said on Thursday he had granted Mr Ahmed’s request for a temporary restraining order. The judge also temporarily blocked the officials from detaining Mr Ahmed without the chance for his case to be heard. The BBC has contacted the state department and White House for comment. When approached by media agencies, a state department spokesperson was quoted as saying: “The Supreme Court and Congress have repeatedly made clear: the United States is under no obligation to allow foreign aliens to come to our country or reside here.”  

Mr Ahmed said: “I will not be bullied away from my life’s work of fighting to keep children safe from social media’s harm and stopping antisemitism online.” His lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said the speed of the judge’s decision was telling. “The federal government can’t deport a green card holder like Imran Ahmed, with a wife and young child who are American, simply because it doesn’t like what he has to say,” she said.

In 2023, Mr Ahmed’s centre was sued by Elon Musk’s social media company after it reported on a rise in hate speech on the platform since the billionaire’s takeover of the firm, now called X. The case was dismissed but an appeal is pending.