“As of today, Yunseo Chung no longer has to fear and live in fear of ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] coming to her doorstep and abducting her in the night,” Chung’s lawyer Ramzi Kassem said after the court ruling on Tuesday.
US District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said government lawyers had not yet laid out enough facts about their claims that they needed to detain the student while her case against deportation plays out in court.
“Nor was it clear why Ms Chung would pose potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences,” the judge said, citing a rationale that the Trump administration has invoked in Chung’s case and those of other student protesters it is seeking to throw out of the country over their pro-Palestinian activism.
“What is the issue with permitting her to stay in the community and not be subjected to ICE detention while the parties participate in rational, orderly briefing?” the judge added, using a legal term for fleshing out arguments in court filings.
The ruling for Chung, who has lived in the US since she was 7 years old and holds permanent residency, was a small win in a larger lawsuit in which she is seeking to block the US government from deporting non-citizens who participated in university campus protests against Israel’s war on Gaza.
Chung was not at the hearing while about a dozen supporters watched quietly from the court audience.
According to a spokesperson at the Department of Homeland Security, Chung is “being sought for removal proceedings under the immigration laws” for engaging in “concerning conduct”, including being arrested at a protest.
Chung said in her lawsuit that ICE agents were looking to deport her after her arrest on March 5 while protesting Columbia University’s disciplinary actions against student protesters. Her legal team was also informed earlier this month that her permanent residence status in the US had been revoked.
Such actions form part of a “larger pattern of attempted US government repression of constitutionally protected activity and other forms of speech”, Chung’s lawsuit states and cites the Donald Trump administration’s attempt to deport other international students in the country.
One such case is Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate from Columbia University. His attempted deportation over his role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia is one of the most high-profile among several students targeted by Trump. Held in detention, Khalil has described himself as a political prisoner detained for exercising his free speech.
Khalil is also challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to remove him from the country, and on March 10, a New York district court prohibited his deportation and extended it two days later.
Another student up for deportation is Cornell University’s Momodou Taal, who is also suing the US government for attempting to deport him.
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian student at Georgetown University, faces a similar situation, as he remains detained by the government. However, a federal judge has barred his deportation for now.
