Judge blocks efforts to arrest Columbia student protester

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to halt its efforts to arrest and deport a Columbia University student for participating in pro-Palestinian protests.

Yunseo Chung, 21, a legal permanent resident who moved to the US from South Korea as a child, had filed a lawsuit alleging immigration officials had executed search warrants at multiple Columbia facilities, including her dormitory.

The restraining order comes as another international student studying at Tufts University near Boston was arrested by Immigration officials, according to a statement from the university.

It follows the Trump administration's intensified crackdown on what it classifies as antisemitism on US campuses.

One of the highest profile cases thus far involves Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent pro-Palestinian activist, who remains in a Louisiana detention facility without charges.

Ms Chung's attorney, Ramzi Kassem, called the New York federal judge's ruling "sensible and fair", according to Politico.

He said her client "no longer has to fear" arrest or being sent to a far away prison "simply because she spoke up for Palestinian human rights".

The Columbia student's lawsuit also names other students facing deportation, including Cornell doctoral candidate Momodou Taal and Columbia international student Ranjani Srinivasan, whose visa was revoked.

A hearing for Mr Taal's request to block his detention was held on Tuesday.

The Tufts University student was arrested outside an off-campus property on Tuesday, and the school had no prior knowledge of it, the university said in its statement.

"From what we have been told subsequently, the student's visa status has been terminated, and we seek to confirm whether that information is true." it said.

The heightened activity by immigration officials is a part of President Donald Trump's promise to combat antisemitism, written into an executive order in January.

Since then, the administration has revoked $400m in Columbia funding over allegations the university failed to combat antisemitism on its campus, and threatened to do the same to other universities.

The administration has also moved to deport multiple students across the country and called for students to "self-deport".

Trump officials have cited the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the State Department to deport non-citizens who are "adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests" of the US.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has argued this statute grants broad deportation authority, stating visa and green-card holders can be removed "for virtually any reason".

Civil rights groups, including the ACLU, have condemned the administration's actions.

In an open letter to universities, the ACLU warned: "The federal government cannot mandate student expulsions or threaten funding cuts to suppress constitutionally protected speech."