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Israeli media: Intense US efforts are being made to resolve differences, such as the issue of the Israeli presence on Mount Hermon and in southern Syria
Israeli media: The security agreement means amending the disengagement agreement, which will also address the Druze issue
Israeli media: Attempts to reach a security agreement between 'Israel' and Syria were among the topics discussed at the Paris meeting
Israeli media: Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif rejected a US proposal to join the recent tripartite meeting between Tom Barrack, al-Shaibani, and Dermer
Saba News Agency: Two martyred, five injured in a preliminary toll of the Israeli aggression on the Yemeni Oil Company station on Al-Sitteen Street in Sanaa
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Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: Our air defenses and missile forces forced a formation of enemy aircraft to flee the airspace
Member of the Ansar Allah Political Bureau, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti: The Israeli aggression on Yemen will not deter us from continuing to support Gaza, no matter the sacrifices
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Israeli aggression targeted the Yemeni Oil Company station on Al-Sitteen Street, southwest of the capital, Sanaa, with several raids

Columbia protester sues Trump admin over deportation attempt

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 25 Mar 2025 08:56
4 Min Read

Yunseo Chung, a participant in the university's pro-Palestinian protests, condemned the government's actions as a "shocking overreach".

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  • As light rain falls, New York City police officers arrest pro-Palestinian protesters near the Columbia University campus in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
    As light rain falls, New York City police officers arrest pro-Palestinian protesters near the Columbia University campus in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP)

A Columbia University student who participated in pro-Palestinian protests is suing US President Donald Trump’s administration for attempting to deport her.

Attorneys for Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old who has lived legally in the US since childhood, filed a lawsuit on Monday, calling the government’s actions a “shocking overreach” and an “unprecedented and unjustifiable assault” on her rights.

Chung has been involved in pro-Palestine demonstrations on campus since 2023 and was arrested earlier this month while protesting what she described as the university’s “excessive punishments” of student activists, according to the lawsuit, first reported by The New York Times.

Days after her arrest, the suit states, immigration officials attempted to detain and remove Chung from the country. Her lawyer was reportedly informed that her permanent resident status was being “revoked".

The lawsuit comes amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to crack down on immigrants involved in pro-Palestinian protests by revoking their legal status and pursuing deportation.

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Earlier this month, immigration authorities arrested Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a leader in the Columbia protests, stating they were acting on a State Department order to revoke his green card. Khalil remains in custody in Louisiana. His arrest has sparked fear among international students at Columbia, who worry their visas could also be revoked.

Chung’s lawsuit names Trump, Senator Marco Rubio—who, according to the complaint, ordered Chung’s legal status revoked—South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, and other officials. Both Trump and Rubio have publicly supported revoking the visas of international students participating in pro-Palestine demonstrations. During a press conference regarding Khalil, Rubio stated that the government would “kick out” green card holders involved in such protests.

Meanwhile, some US embassies in Europe have issued warnings to potential visitors. The US Embassy in Estonia posted:

“When you apply to enter the United States and you get a visa, you are a guest. Now, if you are in this country to promote Hamas, to promote terrorist organizations, to participate in vandalism, to participate in acts of rebellion and riots on campus, we never would have let you in if we had known that. You lied to us. You’re out.”

However, the Trump administration is also targeting longtime US residents. Chung, a junior at Columbia, has lived in the US since age seven when her family immigrated. She became a permanent resident in 2021, according to the complaint.

Just three days after New York police arrested Chung at a protest, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official signed an administrative arrest warrant for her, the suit claims. The next day, ICE agents reportedly visited her parents’ home looking for her, and days later, they executed search warrants at two Columbia properties, including Chung’s dormitory.

Chung’s lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of engaging in a “larger pattern of attempted US government repression of constitutionally protected protest activity and other forms of speech” and argues that officials are seeking to “retaliate against and punish noncitizens like Ms Chung for their participation in protests.”

“Ms Chung is challenging [the government’s] pattern and practice of targeting individuals associated with protests for Palestinian rights for immigration enforcement in retaliation for their core protected political speech,” the lawsuit states.

Read more: Columbia complies with Trump pressures to salvage funding

  • United States
  • pro-Palestine protest
  • Yunseo Chung
  • Gaza genocide
  • Trump admin
  • Donald Trump
  • mass deportations
  • Columbia protester

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