The American Korean Yunseo Chung, 21, is one of several students contesting the efforts of the Trump administration to expel them on their pro-Palestinian activism.
A judge ruled that Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old American Korean student at Columbia University who is requested for the expulsion by the administration of President Donald Trump, cannot be detained while she is struggling to try to remove it from the United States for her pro-Palestinian opinions.
“To date, Yunseo Chung no longer has to fear and live in fear of ice (immigration and customs application) who arrived at his door and abundant in the night,” said Chung’s lawyer Ramzi Kassem on Tuesday.
US District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said that government lawyers had not yet established enough facts on their allegations that they had to hold the student while his case against the expulsion takes place in court.
“Nor was it clear why Ms. Chung would make potentially serious unfavorable consequences,” said the judge, citing a justification that the Trump administration invoked in the case of Chung and those of other demonstrators that he seeks to get out of the country on their pro-Palestinian activism.
“What is the problem that allows him to stay in the community and not be subject to the detention of ice while the parties participate in a rational and ordered briefing?” The judge said, using a legal term to eliminate arguments in court documents.
Chung’s decision, which has lived in the United States since the age of 7 and has a permanent residence, has been a small victory in a broader trial in which it seeks to prevent the US government from deporting non-citizens who participated in university protests against the War of Israel against Gaza.
Chung was not at the hearing while a dozen supporters quietly looked at the audience of the court.
According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Security, Chung “is requested to return the procedure under immigration laws” for being “concerning driving”, in particular by being arrested during a demonstration.
Chung said in his trial that ice agents sought to deport her after her arrest on March 5 while protesting against the disciplinary measures of Columbia University against demonstrators. His legal team was also informed earlier this month than his status of permanent residence in the United States had been dismissed.
These actions are part of a “broader model of attempted American government’s repression of the activity protected by the Constitution and other forms of speech”, the Chung’s trial declares and quotes the Trump administration attempt to deport other international students in the country.
One of these cases is Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate of Columbia University. His attempted expulsion on his role in pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Columbia is one of the most publicized among several students targeted by Trump. Khalil held in detention described himself as a political prisoner held for exercising his freedom of expression.
Khalil also challenges the Trump administration’s efforts to withdraw it from the country, and on March 10, a district court in New York prohibited its expulsion and extended it two days later.
Another expulsion student is Momodou Taal from Cornell University, who also pursues the US government for trying to expel it.
Badar Khan Suri, an Indian student at the University of Georgetown, faces a similar situation because he remains detained by the government. However, a federal judge has prohibited his expulsion for the moment.
