A federal judge has blocked immigration officials’ attempt to deport a Columbia University student over her participation in a recent protest, while the 21-year-old is now speaking out about the ordeal, according to reports.
Yunseo Chung, a legal permanent U.S. resident and a 2022 graduate of Grafton High School in York County, sued President Donald Trump and top administration officials on Monday over a bid to arrest and ultimately deport her in connection to her participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
During a hearing in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald said “nothing in the record” suggested Chung posed a threat to the community, a “foreign-policy risk,” or had any contact with terrorist organizations.
Buchwald entered a temporary restraining order while attorneys litigate the case. The judge’s order requires the government to “provide sufficient advance notice” to Chung and her attorneys if it attempted to detain her under a different statute.
In a statement issued through her attorneys, Chung said, “this decision feels like a million pounds off of my chest.”
“I feel like I could fly. I’m so, so grateful to my legal team and my community of professors, students, and staff at Columbia that have given me strength at every turn.”
Chung is facing deportation after she was arrested during a sit-in demonstration March 5 at Barnard College in Manhattan, according to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court.
Upon Trump’s return to the Oval Office, his administration has said it wants to deport non-citizens whom officials deem a threat to foreign policy.
Chung, who was Grafton’s valedictorian in 2022, moved to the U.S. 15 years ago from South Korea with her family. She sued Trump and other top ranking officials in an effort to avoid deportation, according to legal filings. Federal officers searched for her at the college and at her parents’ home, according to her lawsuit.
In May 2022, she was awarded a National Merit Scholarship. Online records for York County Public Schools show she was recognized multiple times over the course of her high school career for creative endeavors, including winning first place in a literature competition for Grafton as a senior along with an honorable mention at the district level, and won first place in Grafton’s photography competition as a junior.
York County Public Schools officials and administrators at Grafton declined to comment on Chung’s time in high school.
In the lawsuit, Chung’s lawyers argued that actions by the Trump administration demonstrate an attempt to “chill” her free speech.
Conversely, the Trump administration has argued that her presence in the U.S. hinders the administration’s foreign policy agenda of halting the spread of antisemitism, The New York Times reported.
Gavin Stone of The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press as well as Kyle Lawson of the Staten Island Advance (N.Y.) contributed to this report.
