Tracy Mumford

Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee, called President Trump an authoritarian and said the administration had violated free speech protections when it tried to deport international students who'd been protesting over the war in Gaza.

The administration said it had the authority to do so under an obscure legal provision, claiming the students were a threat to American foreign policy.

But in court yesterday, the judge said the deportation threats were an effort to, quote, twist the laws and pick off prominent activists to intimidate others.

The judge said that next week he plans to issue a final order restricting the administration from deporting members of two academic groups that brought the case.

And he said that going forward, the government will have to show that any deportations are not retaliation.

And what's your reaction to that stunning admission?

I accept their apologies.

And I hope that based on this apology, I'm able to return back to my studies and also to be home with my parents.

The Trump administration has made a rare admission.

It said it made a mistake when it deported a college student who was trying to fly home for Thanksgiving.

Nineteen-year-old Ani Lopez-Beloza, who was brought from Honduras to the U.S.

when she was seven, was on her way to visit family in Texas when immigration agents detained her at the airport in Boston.

The next day, a judge signed an order saying she could not be removed from the U.S.

while her case was pending.

But the day after that, she was put on a flight to Honduras, one of multiple times that the administration has ignored court orders and pushed forward with deportations.

In court this week, a judge said he would try and find a solution so that she can return to the U.S.

and get back to school, though the government hasn't dropped its case against her.

Since she was deported, her family has faced intimidation from immigration authorities.

Her parents said that last month, agents appeared outside their home in Texas in three unmarked cars.

One agent rushed at her father, but he fled into the house and locked the door.