Columbia Student Protester Sues Trump Admin After Permanent Legal Status Revoked

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A Columbia University student filed a lawsuit on March 24 against President Donald Trump and top administration officials, seeking to block any potential deportation efforts over her participation in pro-Palestinian protests.

Those protests had been described the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as “pro-Hamas.”

Yunseo Chung, 21, a South Korean national who moved from South Korea to the United States with her parents when she was aged 7, filed the complaint after her permanent resident status was revoked.

The lawsuit states that Chung was involved in pro-Palestinian protests—sparked by the conflict in Gaza—at Columbia University but did not make public statements or hold a high-profile role in the protests.

After Chung took part in a March 5 sit-in inside an academic building at Barnard College, the New York City Police Department issued her a desk appearance ticket and released her. The university placed her on interim suspension and restricted her access following that arrest.

A few days later, federal authorities showed up at her parents’ house to search for her and said that her legal status had been revoked. An ICE official also issued an administrative arrest warrant for Chung and searched her dorm, the lawsuit stated.

Chung has not yet been arrested, according to her attorneys. In her lawsuit, Chung called ICE’s actions an “unprecedented and unjustifiable assault” on her First Amendment rights.

She alleged that ICE’s actions were part of “attempted U.S. government repression of constitutionally protected protest activity and other forms of speech.”

The complaint also accused Trump administration officials of trying to use immigration enforcement “as a bludgeon to suppress speech that they dislike, including Ms. Chung’s speech.”

“Officials at the highest levels of the federal government have made clear that they intend to use immigration enforcement to punish noncitizens who speak out in support of Palestinians and Palestinian rights, or who are perceived to have engaged in such speech,” she stated in the lawsuit.

A DHS spokesperson alleged that Chung engaged in concerning conduct, including when she was arrested during the sit-in at Barnard College that DHS termed “pro-Hamas.”

The DHS spokesperson did not elaborate further on the specifics of the conduct in question but said Chung was “sought for removal proceedings under the immigration laws” and will have a chance to present her case before an immigration judge.

Chung’s lawyers have filed a motion seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent Chung from being deported or detained while the legal case is ongoing.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCRSF), which filed the lawsuit and motion on behalf of Chung, said that without the restraining order, Chung could face “harsh detention conditions” that could cause her “significant trauma,” disrupt her studies, and limit her access to legal counsel.

“Speech concerning political change receives the highest level of protection under the First Amendment, which the Supreme Court for nearly a century has interpreted to protect noncitizens,” LCCRSF said in a statement.

The Epoch Times reached out to Chung’s attorneys for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Protests erupted at colleges across the United States, including at Columbia University, after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which prompted the Israeli military to launch a counter-offensive against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Trump issued a statement on his social media platform, Truth Social, earlier this month, warning that colleges that allow “illegal protests” could risk losing federal funding. The president also said that foreign students who engaged in such activities could face deportation.

“Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came,“ Trumps stated. ”American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested.”

Tom Ozimek and Reuters contributed to this report.