Trump administration seeks to deport hate speech researcher previously sued by X
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of State from arresting or deporting Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
In Brief
Posted:
12:13 PM PST · December 27, 2025
**Image Credits:**Mandel Ngan / Getty Images
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from arresting or deporting Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
The New York Times reports that Ahmed is one of five researchers and regulators whose work around online abuse and disinformation drew the ire of the U.S. State Department, which declared this week that they are barred from the United States.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the targeted individuals as “radical activists and weaponized NGOs” who have “led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.”
While Ahmed was born in the United Kingdom, he has a U.S. green card, resides in the United States, and has an American wife and child.
Ahmed defended his work in an interview with PBS News, describing the government’s move as “another example of these companies [such as Meta, OpenAI, and Elon Musk’s X] which have tried to evade responsibility using their big money to try and influence things in politics.”
A lawsuit by X against the CCDH was dismissed last year, but an appeal is pending.
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