A 21-year-old Columbia University junior, Yunseo Chung, has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, alleging that his administration is using immigration enforcement to silence pro-Palestinian activists on college campuses.

Chung, a legal permanent resident originally from South Korea, said she was the intended target when federal agents arrived at a residence on West 113th Street in Manhattan earlier this month.

Her lawsuit, filed in federal court, accuses the Trump administration of attempting to “use immigration enforcement as a bludgeon to suppress speech they dislike, including Ms. Chung’s speech.”

Chung, who has lived in the U.S. since she was 7 years old, participated in a March 5 sit-in and protest outside a Barnard College academic building in support of Palestinian rights.

Since then, she says, federal agents have searched her dormitory, visited her parents’ home, and revoked her green card status, actions her attorneys say are part of a broader pattern of politically motivated retaliation.

“The prospect of imminent detention and deportation has chilled her speech,” her lawsuit states.

Chung now fears speaking out about both the situation in Gaza and the treatment of students like herself on Columbia’s campus.

“If Ms. Chung is detained and deported, she will be indefinitely separated from her family and community,” the suit continues. Her parents live in the U.S., and her younger sister is preparing to begin college stateside this fall.

The Trump administration has defended its actions, claiming Chung’s presence in the U.S. poses a threat to foreign policy and efforts to curb antisemitism.

This is the same justification the White House cited in the recent detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student and prominent figure in last year’s pro-Palestinian campus protests.

Khalil, born in Syria to a Palestinian family, was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8. He previously served as a spokesperson and negotiator for student demonstrations opposing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

In a statement, Khalil called his arrest part of a larger pattern of “anti-Palestinian racism” in the United States.

The cases of Chung and Khalil are becoming flashpoints in a broader national debate over immigration, student activism, and civil liberties on college campuses.

Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown has extended to noncitizen students, many of whom say they now fear expressing political views, particularly on the subject of Palestinian rights.

Columbia University has yet to comment on Chung’s lawsuit or the actions taken against students by federal authorities.