Trump’s Plans To Deport Foreign Radicals Temporarily Halted

A Clinton-appointed judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from detaining a foreign student while initiating the process of deportation due to involvement in antisemitic protests.

The temporary restraining order filed against President Donald Trump and several government agencies and officials was granted by U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald after 21-year-old Yunseo Chung, a permanent resident and student at Columbia University, was threatened with deportation over her participation in a campus protest, according to court documents. The Trump administration has taken major steps to remove foreign students who express support for terrorism in the United States in light of the violent anti-Israel protests that have overtaken a multitude of college campuses since the start of the war in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.

The order may prevent the administration from detaining other radical foreign protesters.

Chung participated in several antisemitic demonstrations at the university and was eventually arrested on March 5 for “obstruction of governmental administration” for protesting Columbia issuing punishments to students who participated in the overtaking of a campus building in 2024 during which a campus employee was allegedly held hostage.

“The government’s actions are an unprecedented and unjustifiable assault on First Amendment and other rights, one that cannot stand basic legal scrutiny,” Chung’s petition to the court filed Monday read. “Since 2023, along with hundreds of her peers, Ms. Chung has also participated in some student protests and demonstrations on Columbia University’s campus related to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the devastating toll it has taken on Palestinian civilians. Ms. Chung has not made public statements to the press or otherwise assumed a high-profile role in these protests. She was, rather, one of a large group of college students raising, expressing, and discussing shared concerns.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials attempted to locate Chung at her family’s home on March 9, saying her permanent resident status is being “revoked,” the petition claimed. Chung has been in the United States with her family since the age of 7, the document says.

Multiple student visa holders have already been removed from the country or are currently awaiting deportation, including Syrian-born Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the Columbia protests.

In a separate case, U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani ruled Tuesday that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could not remove a detained student from the state of Massachusetts without advanced notice to the court while the student awaits deportation. Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national, was arrested and had her visa revoked due to her involvement in anti-Israel protests at Tufts University.

The Trump administration in early March pulled over $400 million from Columbia over its failure to protect Jewish students during the rampant protests. On Friday, the university announced it had reached a preliminary agreement with the Trump administration to restore its funding. The agreement included reforming several protest policies, hiring additional campus police officers and beefing up its disciplinary office staff.

Although Columbia on March 13 claimed to have punished several students for their involvement in the incident, a spokesman for the university refused to state the names and number of students who were suspended, expelled or had their degrees revoked.

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Tuesday that she has discussed with Columbia reconsidering how the school vets incoming foreign students to ensure they do not have “terrorist” ties.