1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I am writing to you as a constituent to express my deep outrage and urgent concern over the U.S. government’s current actions targeting Ms. Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old legal permanent resident and Columbia University student, for deportation based on her participation in lawful, nonviolent pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Ms. Chung has lived in the United States since the age of seven. She is a high school valedictorian and currently majors in English and gender studies. According to publicly reported facts and her legal filing in federal court, she has not held any leadership role in recent campus protests and has not engaged in criminal activity. Nonetheless, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have conducted invasive raids and attempted to arrest her under pretextual claims that her presence hinders foreign policy—a patently unconstitutional rationale. This is a flagrant violation of Ms. Chung’s First and Fifth Amendment rights. Her freedom of speech and right to due process are not contingent on her citizenship status. The use of immigration enforcement to punish constitutionally protected expression sets a dangerous precedent, particularly when used selectively against legal immigrants participating in speech that challenges the political narratives of the current administration. Additionally, the government’s use of the “harboring statute” to justify raids on Columbia University housing suggests a broader, politically motivated investigation aimed at suppressing dissent and intimidating institutions of higher learning. This represents not only executive overreach, but an abuse of prosecutorial discretion that must be subject to rigorous congressional oversight. I demand that you: 1. Publicly denounce the targeting of Ms. Chung and similar retaliatory enforcement actions; 2. Call for immediate hearings into DHS and DOJ actions against legal U.S. residents engaging in constitutionally protected speech; 3. Introduce or support legislation that reinforces First Amendment protections for noncitizens residing lawfully in the United States; 4. Demand a full accounting from DHS, ICE, and DOJ of enforcement actions taken against individuals based on their political views or participation in campus activism. These actions are a threat to democratic governance and the constitutional order. Silence from Congress at this moment would amount to complicity. I urge you to act now and defend the rights of all residents under the Constitution.