Yunseo Chung, a student at Columbia University, sues President Donald Trump following reports of federal officials searching her dormitory.

Yunseo Chung, a legal permanent resident, has lived in US since age 7, participated in pro-Palestinian protests

NEW YORK CITY — A Columbia University junior, aged 21, stated that she was the target of federal agents who appeared at a residence near the school recently. She is now taking legal action against President Donald Trump.

Yunseo Chung, a legal permanent resident in the U.S. since she relocated from South Korea at 7 years old, took part in pro-Palestinian protests. She accused Trump and other officials of using immigration enforcement to stifle speech they disagree with, including hers.

Following Chung’s involvement in a sit-in on March 5 inside a building at Barnard College and a protest outside, federal authorities reportedly searched her dorm, visited her parents’ home, and revoked her legal permanent resident status, as per her lawsuit.

“The prospect of imminent detention, to be followed by deportation proceedings, has chilled her speech. Ms. Chung is now concerned about speaking up about the ongoing ordeal of Palestinians in Gaza as well as what is happening on her own campus: the targeting of her fellow students by the federal government, the arbitrary disciplinary process she and others are undergoing, and the failure of the university to protect noncitizen students,” the lawsuit said. “If Ms. Chung is detained and deported, she will be indefinitely separated from her family and community. Ms. Chung’s parents reside in the continental United States, and her sister is set to start college in the United States in the fall.”

The Trump administration argues her presence poses risks to foreign policy and to halting the spread of antisemitism, the same rationale the administration invoked for the detention of Mahmoud Khalil.

The Columbia University graduate student was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8 as part of Trump’s crackdown on what he calls antisemitic and “anti-American” campus protests. Khalil served as a spokesperson and negotiator last year for pro-Palestinian demonstrators who opposed Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Khalil, who was born in Syria to a Palestinian family, has said in a statement that his detention reflects “anti-Palestinian racism” in the U.S.