Anti-Israel Columbia University student sues to block her deportation
Filing on behalf of Yunseo Chung, who has been in the US since she was 7, follows her arrest this month during protest at which demonstrators handed out Hamas pamphlets
A Korean Columbia University student, who is a legal permanent US resident and has participated in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel, sued the administration of US President Donald Trump on Monday to prevent her deportation, a court filing showed.
Yunseo Chung, 21, has lived in the US since she was seven, but her legal team was informed two weeks ago that her lawful permanent resident status was being revoked, according to the court filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The Trump administration says her US presence hinders its foreign policy agenda, according to the lawsuit. Chung has not yet been arrested. Immigration agents have made multiple visits to her residences looking for her.
Trump has pledged to deport foreign pro-Palestinian protesters and accused them of supporting terrorist group Hamas, of posing hurdles for US foreign policy and of being antisemitic.
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the administration wrongly conflates their criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian rights with antisemitism and support for Hamas. Human rights advocates have condemned the government’s moves.
Columbia protester Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested this month and is legally challenging his detention, is also a lawful permanent resident. Trump has accused Khalil of supporting Hamas, which the latter denies.
Actions against Chung “form part of a larger pattern of attempted US government repression of constitutionally protected protest activity and other forms of speech,” Monday’s lawsuit says.
“The government’s repression has focused specifically on university students who speak out in solidarity with Palestinians and who are critical of the Israeli government’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza,” referring to the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror onslaught against Israel.
NEW: ICE is hunting for Yunseo Chung, a Columbia student who attended pro-Palestine protests. Chung came to the US from Korea with her family at age 7, and was her high school's valedictorian. She's a lawful permanent resident. Here's what we know so far. ???? pic.twitter.com/hyCiyiz6cW
— Jason Paladino (@jason_paladino) March 24, 2025
A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security alleged Chung has engaged in concerning conduct, including when she was arrested by police during a protest at Barnard College earlier this month that DHS termed “pro-Hamas” as the demonstrators who took over the campus handed out Hamas pamphlets.
The spokesperson did not elaborate further on the specifics of that conduct in question but said she was “sought for removal proceedings under the immigration laws” and will have a chance to present her case before an immigration judge.
Along with the cases at Columbia, Badar Khan Suri, an Indian studying at Georgetown University, was detained last week. A federal judge barred Suri’s deportation.
US officials on Friday asked Cornell University student Momodou Taal to turn himself in, Taal’s attorneys said, adding his visa was being revoked.
