Federal judge issues temporary restraining order stopping federal agents from detaining Columbia University student

(CNN) — A federal judge Tuesday temporarily stopped federal agents from detaining 21-year-old Yunseo Chung, a US permanent resident and Columbia University junior, following her participation in pro-Palestinian protests.

Chung sued the Trump administration Monday to stop removal proceedings.

The lawsuit is also looking to stop the “pattern and practice of targeting individuals associated with protests for Palestinian rights for immigration enforcement,” saying it is retaliation for protected political speech.

During an emergency hearing, US District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said the “most sensible” thing was to enter a temporary restraining order while attorneys litigate the case.

“No trips to Louisiana here,” she quipped, an apparent reference to others being held in Jena, Louisiana, including Mahmoud Khalil and Badar Khan Suri.

The judge took issue with the government detaining Chung, saying there was no indication that weapons were used during protest activities, and that the judge’s review of affidavits show no indication she was a foreign threat.

“Nothing in the record indicates she is a danger,” the judge said. The next hearing will be on May 20.

Chung has lived in the US since her family moved from South Korea when she was 7, according to the lawsuit. During her time at Columbia University, she has made it onto the dean’s list every semester since enrolling and has maintained a 3.99 GPA, the lawsuit says. She has been involved in the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review and pursued internships in the legal field, it says.

In a statement to CNN, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Chung “is being sought for removal proceedings under the immigration laws.”

“Yunseo Chung has engaged in concerning conduct, including when she was arrested by NYPD during a pro-Hamas protest at Barnard College,” the spokesperson said. “Chung will have an opportunity to present her case before an immigration judge.”

Chung’s attorneys argue their client is one in a line of noncitizens, including Khalil and Ranjani Srinivasan, being punished by the Trump administration for speaking out in support of Palestinian rights.

“She’s a college junior doing what generations of students before her have done, which is speak up and protest, and for that, the Trump administration is seeking to detain her and deport her,” said attorney Ramzi Kassem outside court Tuesday, adding that his client has done nothing criminal.

The lawsuit says the proceedings are being carried out through a policy adopted by the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security in which “they would retaliate against and punish noncitizens, including Ms. Chung, for their actual or perceived advocacy for Palestinian rights.”

Chung participated in protests on campus against Israel’s war against Hamas, including visiting the encampment in 2024, but didn’t make “public statements to the press or otherwise assumed a high-profile role,” the lawsuit says.

She faced disciplinary procedures for putting posters on university buildings that featured pictures of Columbia University Board of Trustees members with the words “Wanted for Complicity in Genocide,” but the university ultimately found she hadn’t violated any applicable policies, according to the lawsuit.

On March 5, Chung participated in a student sit-in at the university to protest “excessive punishments meted out by the Columbia administration,” where she was arrested by the New York Police Department and given a desk appearance ticket for “obstruction of government administration.” The university placed her on “interim suspension due to the arrest and restricted her campus access,” the lawsuit says.

An ICE official signed an administrative arrest warrant for Chung on March 8, and ICE officials went to her parent’s residence the next day looking for her, the lawsuit says. A federal law enforcement official told Chung’s counsel on March 10 that her lawful permanent resident status was being “revoked,” the lawsuit continues.

Federal law enforcement agents executed search warrants at two residences at Columbia University on March 13, including Chung’s dorm, looking for Chung’s “affiliation with Columbia University, including any occupancy or lease agreements, travel records, and immigration records,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit names the defendants as President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Attorney General Pamela Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, as well as ICE Acting Director Todd M. Lyons and New York ICE Acting Field Office Director William P. Joyce. CNN has reached out to their offices for comment.

A Department of Justice spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday that “This Department makes no apologies for its efforts to defend President Trump’s agenda in court and protect Jewish Americans from vile antisemitism.”

Chung’s attorneys asked the court to stop the government from enforcing any immigration action against their client and to declare the policy of “targeting noncitizens for removal based on First Amendment protected speech and advocacy for Palestinian rights” as unconstitutional.

“The government’s actions are an unprecedented and unjustifiable assault on First Amendment and other rights, one that cannot stand basic legal scrutiny. 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 attorneys say in the lawsuit.

While immigration law gives the secretary of state “wide latitude” to refuse entry or deport noncitizens if there are reasonable grounds for “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States,” the statute forbids this action if it is based on “past, current or expected beliefs” that “would be lawful with the United States,” the lawsuit says.

According to the DHS spokesperson, ICE Homeland Security Investigations “will investigate individuals engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization,” and depending on their findings, “the Department of State may make a determination which may result in visa revocation or other action impacting the immigration status of an alien in the US.” From this designation, ICE will take “take appropriate enforcement actions,” they said.

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