Madeline Halpert

BBC News, New York

A Columbia University student who moved to the US as a child is suing the Trump administration over attempts to deport her for participating in pro-Palestinian protests.

Yunseo Chung, 21, a legal permanent US resident who moved from South Korea when she was seven, alleges immigration officials have executed search warrants at multiple Columbia facilities, including her dormitory.

The lawsuit seeks to block her detention and deportation, citing First Amendment and other constitutional rights.

It follows the administration’s recent detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent pro-Palestinian activist, who helped negotiate between university officials and student protesters.

Ms Chung’s lawyers have said she participated in campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, but had not made statements to the press or taken on a high-profile role like Mr Khalil.

The Department of Homeland Security claims Ms Chung engaged in “concerning conduct”, including her arrest at nearby Barnard College demonstration over student expulsions linked to pro-Palestinian protests, US media report.

The BBC has contacted the agency for comment.

The lawsuit alleges that Trump administration officials began efforts to arrest and detain Ms Chung, days after that 5 March, 2025 sit-in protest she attended.

On 8 March, the lawsuit states, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials signed an arrest warrant for the third-year student, and soon after agents went to her parents’ home searching for her.

The suit challenges what it describes as the Trump administration’s “pattern and practice of targeting individuals associated with protests for Palestinian rights for immigration enforcement in retaliation for their core protected political speech”, her lawyers said.

Ms Chung is one of several university students Trump officials have attempted to detain and deport over their involvement in pro-Palestinian protests.

The lawsuit also names other students facing deportation, including Cornell doctoral student Momodou Taal and Columbia international student Ranjani Srinivasan, whose visa was revoked.

The Trump administration’s arrest of Mr Khalil – who was sent to a detention facility in Louisiana before a judge ordered the case be moved back to New Jersey – sparked nationwide protests. Mr Khalil’s wife, who is a US citizen, is eight months pregnant.

His lawyers have also accused the government of “open repression of student activism and political speech”.

Trump officials have cited the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the State Department to deport non-citizens who are “adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests” of the US.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asserted that under this statute, the US could deport visa and green-card holders for “virtually any reason”.

The administration has also revoked $400 million in Columbia funding over allegations the university failed to combat antisemitism on campus.

The university has agreed to several demands from Trump officials – including requiring protesters to provide identification – for it to consider reinstating the funding.