A federal judge in New York has ruled that immigration officials may not detain a Columbia University student while she challenges her potential deportation, following her arrest at a pro-Palestinian protest earlier this month.
U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald issued the ruling from the bench during a March 25 hearing in Manhattan, stating that the government had not presented sufficient evidence to justify immediate immigration detention of 21-year-old Yunseo Chung.
“The government’s actions are an unprecedented and unjustifiable assault on First Amendment and other rights, one that cannot stand basic legal scrutiny,” her complaint reads. “Simply put, immigration enforcement—here, immigration detention and threatened deportation—may not be used as a tool to punish noncitizen speakers who express political views disfavored by the current administration.”
Chung’s lawsuit alleges that she is being targeted for participating in a peaceful sit-in at Barnard College on March 5. The sit-in was part of a broader wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on U.S. college campuses following Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which was sparked by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
Chung’s attorneys argued that the Trump administration is using immigration enforcement “as a bludgeon to suppress speech that they dislike,” citing similar cases involving other student protesters, including Mahmoud Khalil of Columbia and Momodou Taal of Cornell University.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the judge expressed skepticism about the government’s evidentiary basis for the attempted deportation and granted temporary protection against detention as Chung’s legal challenge proceeds.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), which is representing the Trump administration in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCRSF), which represents Chung in the case, praised the decision.
“May the day never come when the Secretary of State is allowed to single out a college student for banishment from the United States because of political protest. At the very least, we are relieved on behalf of our client that day is not today,” the spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
“Many are not students, they are paid agitators,” Trump wrote. “We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country—never to return again. If you support terrorism, including the slaughtering of innocent men, women, and children, your presence is contrary to our national and foreign policy interests, and you are not welcome here.”
Chung’s lawsuit stated that Rubio made the determination that her activities would have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the United States, paving the way for DHS to seek to detain and deport her.
