A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday telling the Trump administration not to arrest Yunseo Chung, an immigrant from South Korea who said she has become a target since she was arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest earlier this month.
Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, a Clinton appointee to the bench in New York, signed the emergency order.
Ms. Chung’s lawyers said it was a “shocking overreach” for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to target the 21-year-old student, who arrived in the U.S. at age 7 and had legal permanent resident status.
According the lawyers, ICE has revoked Ms. Chung’s legal status and has an administrative warrant for her arrest as an immigration violator.
“ICE’s shocking actions against Ms. Chung form part of a larger pattern of attempted U.S. government repression of constitutionally protected protest activity and other forms of speech,” the lawyers said.
Ms. Chung’s lawyers detailed five other cases where they said students have been targeted by ICE over their activities protesting Israel.
Among them is Mahmoud Khalil, another lawful permanent resident and Columbia student who was arrested on March 8.
The government has said Mr. Khalil’s activism amounts to antisemitism. The State Department says his presence runs counter to U.S. foreign policy, which can be grounds for revoking a permanent resident’s status.
