Columbia Student Activist Files Lawsuit Against Trump Administration After Loss of Permanent Legal Status
The attorneys representing the student have also submitted a motion for a temporary restraining order to halt her potential arrest.
A student at Columbia University initiated a lawsuit on March 24 against President Donald Trump and key officials in his administration, aiming to prevent any possible deportation efforts resulting from her involvement in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) referred to those protests as “pro-Hamas.”
Yunseo Chung, 21, who relocated from South Korea to the U.S. with her parents at the age of 7, filed the complaint after her permanent resident status was revoked.
Following Chung’s involvement in a sit-in on March 5 within an academic building at Barnard College, the New York City Police Department issued her a desk appearance ticket and subsequently released her. The university then placed her on interim suspension and restricted her access after this incident.
Days later, federal agents visited her parents’ home in search of her, stating that her legal status had been revoked. An official from ICE also issued a warrant for Chung’s administrative arrest and searched her dormitory, according to the lawsuit.
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According to her legal team, Chung has not been arrested following the sit-in protest. In her lawsuit, she described ICE’s actions as an “unprecedented and unjustifiable assault” on her rights protected by the First Amendment.
Chung claimed that ICE’s conduct was indicative of “attempted U.S. government suppression of constitutionally safeguarded protest activities and other expressions of speech.”
The plaintiff also accused officials from the Trump administration of attempting to use immigration enforcement “as a tool to silence dissenting voices, including Ms. Chung’s own.”
“Officials at the top levels of the federal government have made it evident they plan to utilize immigration enforcement to penalize noncitizens who advocate for Palestinians and Palestinian rights, or who are perceived to have engaged in such advocacy,” she asserted in her lawsuit.
A spokesperson for the DHS contended that Chung was involved in concerning activities, including her arrest during the sit-in at Barnard College, which DHS categorized as “pro-Hamas.”
While the DHS representative did not provide additional details regarding the specific actions in question, they stated that Chung was “pursued for removal proceedings under immigration laws” and would be granted the opportunity to present her case to an immigration judge.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCRSF), which submitted both the lawsuit and the motion on behalf of the student, stated that without the restraining order, Chung could endure “harsh detention conditions” that may lead to “significant trauma,” disrupt her education, and limit her access to legal representation.
The Epoch Times attempted to contact Chung’s attorneys for a comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, protests surged at universities across the United States, including at Columbia University, which prompted the Israeli military to launch a counter-offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
“Agitators will be imprisoned or permanently returned to the country they came from. American students will face permanent expulsion or, depending on the crime, arrest,” Trump stated.
Tom Ozimek and Reuters contributed to this report.
