Last Tuesday, after oral argument, Judge Buchwald granted a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration concerning the detainment and removal of Columbia student, Yunseo Chung, who is a lawful permanent resident. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for May 20, and the government is barred from detaining her or transferring her out of the Southern District in the meantime.

Ms. Chung filed her complaint last Monday, alleging that the attempted deportation violated her First Amendment rights. Ms. Chung participated in a “sit-in and protest” at Columbia on March 5, 2025, at which she was arrested and “given a Desk Appearance Ticket, . . . a common citation issued by the police at protests.” By March 10, 2025, Ms. Chung’s counsel was notified that her “lawful permanent resident status” was being revoked, and judicial search warrants were executed three days later.

The government is apparently invoking a law allowing for the removal of noncitizens whose presence or activities in the United States “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences,” as determined by the Secretary of State. Ms. Chung’s brief in support of the TRO argues that it was until recently “preposterous” to think that student protests would trigger this law:

[N]o different from generations of American students before her, Ms. Chung is a college activist who has associated with her peers to express heartfelt political beliefs, in line with long and deeply held traditions and values. Until two weeks ago, it would have been preposterous to suggest or even imagine that the Secretary of State, invoking an obscure and rarely used law, would take the view that Ms. Chung’s very presence or activities, including her speech in support of Palestinian human rights or of students facing disciplinary proceedings, could or would jeopardize U.S. foreign policy writ large.

The brief argues that the First Amendment problem arises because Ms. Chung is being targeted under this rarely-used statute for her protected speech, and not because of any genuine threat to foreign policy:

Senior federal officials have openly stated that the government aims to use the foreign policy deportation ground to deport noncitizen speakers who support one side of an ongoing political debate. Thus, where Congress contemplated rare, specific, one-off uses of the exceptional authority at 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(C)(iii), Secretary of State Rubio by contrast sees a blank check to censor noncitizens and retaliate against speakers who espouse views contrary to President Trump’s administration. He has pledged: “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.” This follows through on Mr. Rubio’s previous statement, as a Senator, that noncitizens “marching at universities, and in the streets of our country . . . calling for intifada, celebrating what Hamas has done, justifying what Hamas has done . . . need to go.”