Columbia University student accuses Trump administration of targeting her for deportation due to her pro-Palestinian Arab stance.
A Columbia University student accused the Trump administration of targeting her for deportation due to her pro-Palestinian Arab stance, claiming immigration authorities used the same tactics against her as they did against other student activists, including Mahmoud Khalil, The Associated Press reported on Monday.
Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old lawful permanent resident from South Korea, alleges that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sought to deport her after she was arrested on March 5 during a protest at Columbia University. The protest was in response to disciplinary actions taken against students involved in similar demonstrations.
Within days of the protest, Chung claims that ICE agents signed an administrative arrest warrant and visited her parents’ home to detain her. On March 10, Chung’s lawyer was informed by a federal law enforcement official that her status as a lawful permanent resident was being “revoked.”
Just days later, on March 13, Chung reported that law enforcement officials executed search warrants at two Columbia-owned properties, including her dormitory, in search of travel, immigration records, and other documents related to her immigration status.
Chung, who moved to the US from South Korea with her parents at the age of 7, has filed a lawsuit seeking a court order to block the Trump administration’s deportation efforts against noncitizens participating in campus protests related to Israel’s military actions in Gaza, according to AP.
She is asking the court to prevent her from being detained, removed from New York City, or deported while her case is pending. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, argues that ICE’s actions against Chung are part of a broader government effort to suppress constitutionally protected protest activities and free speech.
The lawsuit contends that the Trump administration is using immigration enforcement as a tool to stifle speech it disagrees with, particularly the political expressions of those like Chung who have voiced opposition to Israel’s policies.
The lawsuit also references similar deportation efforts against other students, including Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student who organized anti-Israel protests on campus, and Momodou Taal, a Ph.D. student at Cornell University. Taal, a citizen of the United Kingdom and Gambia, was notified last week to surrender to immigration authorities after filing his own preemptive lawsuit on March 15.
