A Columbia University student who is a permanent resident filed a lawsuit on Monday to stop a deportation order that was given after she participated in on-campus protests in support of Palestine. She says other participating students have been detained or have had deportation orders filed against them.
What does student protestor Yunseo Chung’s lawsuit say?
Yunseo Chung moved to the United States from South Korea with her parents when she was 7. Now 21, she is a permanent resident and has enrolled as a Columbia student. According to the Associated Press, she was told her permanent resident status was being “revoked” on March 10, 2025.
She said ICE was ordered to deport her after she was arrested on campus on March 5. She was protesting Columbia’s actions against student protestors. She was part of a group of students who staged a sit-in at a library at Barnard College, which is across the street from Columbia.
Chung said in the lawsuit that ICE agents came to her parents’ house to detain her after the protest. Members of law enforcement allegedly had warrants to access her Columbia dormitory, seeking records and documents regarding travel and immigration.
Why is Columbia student Yunseo Chung suing the Trump administration?
Chung hopes to block efforts to deport non-US citizens who have participated in campus protests in support of Palestine. She hopes the lawsuit will block the deportation order, keep her from being detained and allow her to remain in the country during the lawsuit, according to the Associated Press.
“ICE’s shocking actions against Ms. Chung form part of a larger pattern of attempted U.S. government repression of constitutionally protected protest activity and other forms of speech,” the lawsuit reads, per the Associated Press.
The lawsuit also includes details of five other students who were subject to similar deportation orders. These include Mahmoud Khalil, a protest leader and green card holder who was detained, and Momodou Taal, a United Kingdom and Gambia citizen and a Cornell University student who was sent a deportation order.
Did the Trump Administration respond to Yunseo Chung’s lawsuit?
“Yunseo Chung has engaged in concerning conduct, including when she was arrested by NYPD during a pro-Hamas protest at Barnard College,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. “She is being sought for removal proceedings under the immigration laws. Chung will have an opportunity to present her case before an immigration judge.”
The Trump administration has cited a statute that allows noncitizens’ visas to be revoked if they are considered a threat to U.S. foreign-policy interests.
It isn’t just students who have been the target of arrests and detention. A Georgetown University scholar was detained, and a Brown University medical school professor was refused US entry.
