A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing sanctions against Francesa Albanese, a United Nations human rights investigator whose work focuses on the Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. The sanctions were imposed in 2025 by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who accused Albanese of displaying "unabashed antisemitism, expressed support for terrorism, and open contempt for the United States, Israel, and the West". The judge ruled that the sanctions likely violated Albanese's First Amendment rights as they appeared to directly target her speech criticizing Israel. Despite her residency outside of the US, Leon found that Albanese had enough connections to assert First Amendment claims.