A 21-year-old Columbia student being sought for deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents filed a lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump and other officials in his administration, accusing them of unlawfully targeting her because of her involvement in pro-Palestinian protests.
Yunseo Chung, a legal permanent resident who’s lived in the United States since she was 7 years old, detailed extensive attempts by ICE to locate and deport her back to South Korea in recent weeks, including by showing up at her parents’ doorstep and at her university housing seeking lease agreements, travel documents and immigration records.
“The government’s actions are an unprecedented and unjustifiable assault on First Amendment and other rights, one that cannot stand basic legal scrutiny,” Chung’s lawyers wrote. “Simply put, immigration enforcement … may not be used as a tool to punish noncitizen speakers who express political views disfavored by the current administration.”
On March 10, her lawyers say, a federal law enforcement official told Chung’s counsel that her lawful permanent resident status is being “revoked” ― even though green card removals must be handed down by immigration judges.
ICE has been seeking out Chung even though she “has not made public statements to the press or otherwise assumed a high-profile role in these protests,” the lawsuit noted. In that way, her case veers from the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate and permanent resident who was taken into custody in Louisiana over his role leading protests on campus.
On March 5, Chung was one of a handful of demonstrators who were arrested for protesting the expulsion of three students from Barnard, Columbia’s sister college. She was given a standard charge of obstructing of governmental administration ― a misdemeanor charge given to demonstrators that’s eventually dismissed in many cases.
“Ms. Chung had never been arrested before this event and has not been arrested since then,” the lawsuit states. “She did not participate in any unlawful activity on the day of her arrest or on any other day. The NYPD issued her a desk appearance ticket and released her that day.”
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The lawsuit names Trump as a defendant along with several others in his orbit, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The White House, DHS and ICE did not immediately return requests for comment on the lawsuit.