Prof. Kitrosser Quoted by Reuters on Justice Department Restrictions on Outside Speech by Immigration Judges

Professor Kitrosser is quoted in an article in Reuters on a Justice Department policy that bars immigration judges from speaking or writing in their personal capacities about immigration issues. In the article, Kitrosser explains that the Justice Department cannot get around First Amendment restrictions simply by defining any immigration-related speech as “official” in nature: “The case law does not work this way. ... An employee only speaks in their official capacity when they are actually speaking in the course of doing their job. All other speech, including speech on matters that relate to their work, is personal capacity speech that can only be restricted if the speaker and public interest in the speech is outweighed by the government’s interest in suppressing it.” The article also cites Kitrosser’s observation that “The Supreme Court ... has made clear that public employees have a crucial role in educating the public about their work.”