Imran Ahmed, who leads the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), has filed a legal complaint against senior figures in the Trump administration. (Photo: X/@SenEricSchmitt)
A British campaigner who works on online misinformation issues has gone to court in the United States after being told he could be deported. The case has been reported by The Guardian.
Imran Ahmed, who leads the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), has filed a legal complaint against senior figures in the Trump administration, including secretary of state Marco Rubio and attorney general Pam Bondi.
Ahmed says he is being targeted because of his organisation’s work examining social media platforms, including Elon Musk’s X.
The court filing in New York argues there is no valid reason to detain or remove him. Ahmed lives in Washington DC with his American wife and child. He is also known to be a friend of Morgan McSweeney, the UK prime minister’s chief of staff, The Guardian reports.
The CCDH has previously published reports on rising harmful content on X after Musk took control of the platform. Musk tried to sue the group, but the case failed. He later called the CCDH a “criminal organisation”, according to The Guardian.
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Ahmed is one of five Europeans recently named by the US state department. Rubio said the group had led “organised efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetise and suppress American viewpoints they oppose”, The Guardian reports. A state department official wrote on X that people who “foment censorship of American speech” were not welcome in the US.
Campaign groups in the UK say this may be part of a wider pushback by the Trump administration against European rules on online content.
In a statement reported by The Guardian, Ahmed said: “My life’s work is to protect children from the dangers of unregulated social media and AI and fight the spread of antisemitism online… I am proud to call the United States my home… instead of spending Christmas with my family, I am fighting to prevent my unlawful deportation.”
His lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, told The Guardian that the move by US officials was “blatantly unconstitutional” and said Ahmed was having to fight the case during the holidays to stop his removal.
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A UK government spokesperson said countries can set their own visa rules but added that Britain supports efforts to keep the internet safe.
US judge has now issued a temporary order stopping officials from detaining Ahmed until the court hears the case. Kaplan said the quick order showed why the court believed the actions of the officials were unlawful, and that the full hearing is set for Monday.
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