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Stand up for First Amendment: Khanna appeals Silicon Valley
The Indian American lawmaker targeted Silicon Valley over compliance with ICE-linked requests.
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Anushka Pathak - Sat, 21, Feb 2026
- 16:48 EST
- 25
Congressman Ro Khanna during a Feb. 20 town hall at Stanford University titled “Who Controls the Future of AI: The Oligarchs or The People?” / Courtesy: X/@RoKhanna
Congressman Ro Khanna called on Silicon Valley firms to reject certain Department of Homeland Security (DHS) administrative demands, arguing that compliance risks undermining constitutional protections.
In his remarks during a Feb. 20 town hall at Stanford University titled “Who Controls the Future of AI: The Oligarchs or The People?”, the Democrat said tech companies are receiving administrative demands, not judicial orders, seeking to monitor social media accounts critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“For all the people in Silicon Valley who are lecturing about the First Amendment, this would be a good time to stand up for the First Amendment,” Khanna said, underscoring that companies are “under no obligation to comply with an administrative subpoena, which is not a judicial subpoena.”
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Framing the issue as a test of whether the industry will defend free speech when faced with federal pressure, he urged firms to “show some backbone.”
Khanna linked the subpoenas to broader concerns about digital privacy and government overreach. He called for a “data bill of rights,” saying technological innovation and policy research must be paired with safeguards “so you don't have companies like Palantir taking our data and giving it to ICE to be harassing and detaining immigrants and citizens.”
Extending his criticism to ICE, Khanna described speaking with U.S.-born citizens who told him they carry passports out of concern. “It is so offensive what ICE is doing around America. We need to tear down the agency and replace it,” he said, asserting that the nation “cannot have an agency that has no oversight and that has no sense of democratic accountability.”
He also urged the Democratic Party to shift its focus away from messaging style and toward making clear, substantive policy commitments. “Courage is the new charisma,” Khanna said, laying out proposals that include taxing billionaires, implementing Medicare for all, US $10-a-day child care, a living wage, opposing overseas wars, and cutting what he described as a bloated defense budget. He added that “voters are smarter than that. And certainly the working-class voters are smarter than that.”
The event, hosted by the Stanford College Democrats and the Stanford Speakers Bureau, featured Khanna in conversation with Sen. Bernie Sanders and drew more than 1,000 attendees.
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