A Columbia University student who took part in campus protests against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza is facing deportation, according to a Monday lawsuit.
Lawyers for Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old permanent resident, allege that their client was a victim of “shocking overreach” by the government, which is seeking to deport her because of her political views and constitutionally protected protest activities.
The Monday lawsuit seeks to stop the deposition and the “pattern and practice of targeting individuals associated with protests for Palestinian rights for immigration enforcement,” adding that Chung’s detainment came around the same time as Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil‘s arrest earlier this month.
“The government’s actions are an unprecedented and unjustifiable assault on First Amendment and other rights, one that cannot stand basic legal scrutiny,” the lawsuit says.
Originally from South Korea, Chung and her family have lived in the United States since she was 7 years old. The lawsuit states that immigration officials signed an administrative arrest warrant for Chung on March 8, the same time Khalil was arrested. Like Khalil, her permanent resident status means she does not need a student visa.
It is not clear whether Chung was arrested and detained — or where she is currently.
The suit names President Donald Trump and other cabinet members as defendants, as well as acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons and acting ICE New York Field Office Director William P. Joyce. It accused the government of using the threat of deportation as “a tool to punish non-citizen speakers who express political views disfavored by the current administration.”
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
“The government’s plans to arrest and deport Yunseo Chung violate the First Amendment,” Joshua Colangelo-Bryan of Human Rights First, one of the groups legally representing her, said in a statement to NBC News.
“In fact, when President Trump’s sister was a federal judge, she ruled that the provision the government seeks to invoke is unconstitutional. And how weak does the U.S. look when it makes the preposterous claim that the presence of a former high school valedictorian at protests will harm U.S. foreign policy?” he added.
President Trump, who called Khalil a “Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student” and promised more arrests of student protesters, has yet to publicly mention Yunseo’s case.
Chung’s legal team has filed a petition for habeas corpus, which means that an authority is compelled to bring someone before a court to determine the legality of their detention.
The lawsuit says Chung, a promising student who was valedictorian at high school and excelled at college, took part in campus protests beginning in 2023. However, Chung did not have a high-profile, public role in the pro-Palestinian movement or speak to the press.
On March 5, she was arrested but not detained while participating in a protest at Columbia against what activists believed were unfair punishments given to student protesters. The lawsuit says Chung only received a “desk appearance ticket” from the New York Police Department, a citation given to many protesters which the courts are still deciding.
She also faced college disciplinary proceedings twice — including for putting up posters accusing Columbia of “complicity in genocide.” She was found not to have violated university policy, but the lawsuit says she has been suspended since March 7.
Days later, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials signed a warrant for her arrest, and on March 9, officials appeared at her parents’ house seeking her.
On March 10, an assistant United States attorney named Perry Carbone messaged one of Chung’s attorneys to say that her visa had been “revoked.” When Chung’s attorney explained that she has a green card and doesn’t require a visa, Carbone replied: “The secretary of state has revoked that too,” the lawsuit says.
On March 13, Department of Homeland Security agents executed search warrants at two Columbia residents, including Chung’s dorm, the lawsuit says. The search was an attempt to find occupancy or lease agreements and travel and immigration records, the lawsuit alleges.
Chung’s attorney said the secretary of state doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally revoke permanent resident status, but Carbone “could not explain the justification for the government’s purported action.”
Khalil’s case will be heard at a court hearing in New York later on Tuesday.
