Judge blocks ICE from detaining Columbia student Yunseo Chung—for now: What this means
Judge blocks Yunseo Chung's deportation
Yunseo Chung who faces potential deportation for her involvement in a pro-Palestinian protest cannot be detained by immigration officials for now as she fights the Trump administration in court, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. FOX 5 NY's Briella Tomassetti has the latest details.
NEW YORK - A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Columbia University student Yunseo Chung cannot be taken into immigration detention at this time, delivering a setback to the Trump administration.
"As of today, Yunseo Chung no longer has to fear and live in fear of ICE coming to her doorstep and abducting her in the night," her attorney Ramzi Kassem said after court.
In Chung’s case, U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that government lawyers have yet to provide sufficient evidence to justify detaining the student while her case is ongoing.
The ruling gives Chung temporary relief and complicates the Trump administration’s push to deport noncitizens over protests it claims support Hamas.
The students say they’re being targeted for advocating Palestinian rights.
Dates for Chung's case are expected to be determined next month, with oral arguments set for May 20.
What happened to Yunseo Chung?
Chung, a 21-year-old permanent resident who came to the U.S. as a child, claims ICE moved to deport her after her March 5 arrest during a campus protest.
Her lawsuit alleges that ICE officials signed an administrative arrest warrant within days and even went to her parents’ home to detain her.
NEW YORK, USA MARCH 5: NYPD cleared pro-Palestinian demonstrators from the Barnard College after a group of student protesters occupied Milstein Library on Wednesday night. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Timeline:
March 5: Chung is arrested while protesting Columbia University’s disciplinary actions against student protesters. Reports at the time identified her as one of several demonstrators detained after a sit-in at a library on Barnard College’s campus.
March 10: A federal law enforcement official informs Chung’s lawyer that her lawful permanent resident status is being "revoked."
Around March 13: Law enforcement agents executed search warrants at two Columbia-owned residences, including Chung’s dormitory, seeking travel and immigration records, along with other documents.
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Who is Yunseo Chung?
NEW YORK, USA MARCH 5: NYPD cleared pro-Palestinian demonstrators from the Barnard College after a group of student protesters occupied Milstein Library on Wednesday night. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Chung moved to the U.S. from South Korea with her parents at age 7.
The Columbia junior is suing to block the Trump administration from deporting noncitizens who protested Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
She is asking a judge to prevent her detention, relocation from New York City, or removal from the U.S. while her case is ongoing.
"ICE’s shocking actions against Ms. Chung forms part of a larger pattern of attempted U.S. government repression of constitutionally protected protest activity and other forms of speech," said Chung’s lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Manhattan.
What is the Trump administration saying?
A Department of Homeland Security official defended the government’s actions against Chung, citing her arrest at a campus protest.
"Yunseo Chung has engaged in concerning conduct, including when she was arrested by NYPD during a pro-Hamas protest at Barnard College," a senior Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. "She is being sought for removal proceedings under the immigration laws. Chung will have an opportunity to present her case before an immigration judge."
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Who are the others?
Chung isn’t the only student facing deportation.
As a response, some demonstrators are urging others to wear masks in defiance of the school’s new face-covering ban.
Her lawsuit highlights five others targeted by the administration, including Mahmoud Khalil and Momodou Taal of Cornell University.
Taal, 31, a Ph.D. student in Africana studies, is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Gambia.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 20: Activists hold a demonstration in lower Manhattan against the arrest by ICE of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University, on March 20, 2025 in New York City. Khalil, a pro-Palestinia
Taal received a notice last week to surrender to immigration authorities after suing on March 15 to block his removal.
As a Manhattan federal judge considered Chung’s case Tuesday, another federal jurist in Syracuse considered the case of Cornell University doctoral student Momodou Taal. He also faces potential deportation after being at a protest.
Khalil, a Columbia graduate student, was detained by immigration officials, who told him his green card was being revoked over his participation in protests.
He earned his Master’s degree last semester and played a key role in negotiating with Columbia officials to end last spring’s campus tent encampment.
The Trump administration claims his leadership in the protests amounted to antisemitic support for Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group.
The government has also detained a Georgetown University scholar and denied entry to a Brown University medical professor.
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The administration had threatened to pull $400 million in federal funding unless Columbia took steps to protect Jewish students.
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Columbia is "on the right track" to regain federal funds after agreeing to policy changes. She praised interim president Katrina Armstrong for her commitment to student safety and addressing antisemitism on campus.
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