TNS
University of Minnesota students protest the detainment of a fellow student by ICE agents. Photo by Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune
On March 5, Columbia University student Yunseo Chung was arrested during a pro-Palestinian demonstration. On March 8, another Columbia student active in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Mahmoud Khalil, was arrested and taken into U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. On March 25, Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested near her apartment and transferred across state lines, now being held in custody in Vermont. All three arrests have sparked national debate on the protection of free speech and civil liberties.
Originally born in Syria, Khalil came to America in 2022 on a student visa and gained permanent residency in 2024. In filling out his green card application, the Trump Administration states that Khalil failed to disclose his prior employment with the United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency, UNRWA.
UNRWA is a United Nations agency that is intended to work with Palestinian refugees, but the United Nations has recently completed an investigation concluding that some UNRWA employees have connections to terrorist organizations such as Hamas, causing America to cut ties
with UNRWA.
Khalil failed to include his prior employment with UNRWA on his green card application. If the government can prove that the exclusion of this information was material, meaning it could have determined whether or not Khalil would receive a green card, then this evidence could lawfully serve as grounds for revocation of green card or deportation.
Chung is facing a different situation. She has been living in the US lawfully as a permanent resident since immigrating to America as a 7-year-old. When ICE initiated deportation proceedings, they told her that her presence hinders U.S. foreign policy interests, yet they did not specify how. ICE later informed Chung that her permanent resident status had been revoked.
The Immigration and Nationality Act allows the U.S. to deport someone if their presence “could have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences,” and while this was designed for foreign spies or terrorists, it can technically be applied in this situation. However, it is controversial. The government must prove Chung’s presence could have adverse foreign policy complications through legitimate foreign policy rationale.
On March 24, Chung filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming that the deportation efforts infringe on her first amendment rights. She claims the government’s actions to deport her represent a pattern of suppressing free speech, which is constitutionally protected.
Since Trump’s return to office, over 500 international students have had their visas revoked or legal status altered. These escalations in immigration enforcement have caused hundreds of detentions, deportations, and voluntary departures.