Headline

Judge Halts US Govt Effort To Detain Student For Deportation

Published

8 months ago

March 26, 2025

A judge ordered US authorities Tuesday to cease efforts to detain and deport a New York college student, as President Donald Trump presses his campaign against pupils linked to pro-Palestinian protests.

Trump has targeted New York’s Columbia University, where the student is enrolled, as an epicenter of the US student protest movement sparked by Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, stripping federal funds and directing immigration officers to deport foreign student demonstrators.

Critics argue that the Trump administration’s campaign is retribution and will have a chilling effect on free speech, while its supporters insist it is necessary to restore order to campuses and protect Jewish students.

Authorities had sought to detain Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old South Korean citizen and permanent resident of the United States, under the same powers they used to arrest and hold Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil pending deportation.

In both cases, authorities argue the students undermined US foreign policy through their actions, a charge which allows the Secretary of State to deport foreigners.

Chung, whom officers reportedly have been unable to find, sued the US government Monday, arguing that “immigration enforcement — here, immigration detention and threatened deportation — may not be used as a tool to punish noncitizen speakers who express political views disfavored by the current administration.”

According to Chung’s lawyers, Columbia’s Public Safety department contacted Chung to tell her that Homeland Security agents were seeking her arrest.

At an emergency hearing Tuesday, judge Naomi Buchwald ordered the government to stop its effort to locate and remove Chung, a court order said.

“Defendants-Respondents are enjoined from detaining the Plaintiff-Petitioner pending further order of this Court,” Buchwald said in a temporary restraining order.

– ‘They won’t stop’ –
Separately, a number of university professors sued the Trump administration Tuesday, arguing its policy targeting foreign academics was illegal.

“The policy prevents or impedes Plaintiffs’ US citizen members from hearing from, and associating with, their non-citizen students and colleagues,” the lawsuit reads.

In addition, the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers asked a New York judge to declare Trump’s slashing of $400 million from Columbia’s budget unconstitutional and to restore the funding.

Columbia’s student movement has been at the forefront of protests that have exposed deep rifts over the war in Gaza, drawing dividing lines on the issues of protest and free speech across the country.

Khalil, the arrested Columbia graduate student, was a prominent leader in the protest movement, leading negotiations between students and university authorities.

Lawyers are seeking to have him released from detention in Louisiana while they fight his deportation.

Chung, meanwhile, did not have such a high profile in the protest movement.

Her lawyers acknowledge that she was detained and released for “obstruction of governmental administration” and the case is pending in the New York courts system.

On March 13, federal agents searched two Columbia-owned residences apparently in connection with Chung’s case, according to her attorneys.

Activists call the protests that rocked numerous US campuses a show of support for the Palestinian people, while Trump condemns them as anti-Semitic and says they must end.

The president has cut $400 million in federal funding for Columbia — including research grants and other contracts — on the grounds that the institution has not adequately protected Jewish students from harassment.

Columbia announced Friday a package of concessions to the Trump administration around defining anti-Semitism, policing protests and oversight for specific academic departments.

They stopped short however of some of the more strenuous demands of the Trump administration, which nonetheless welcomed the Ivy League college’s proposals.

Todd Wolfson, of the American Association of University Professors that joined the academics’ lawsuit, said “the Trump administration is going after international scholars and students who speak their minds about Palestine, but make no mistake: they won’t stop there.”

Headline

Netanyahu Asks Israeli President For Pardon From Corruption Charges

Published

23 hours ago

November 30, 2025

Editor

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has asked the country’s president for a pardon in his long-running corruption case, saying the criminal proceedings are hindering his ability to govern and that ending the trial would benefit the nation.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has denied the bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges.

His lawyers told the president’s office that he still believes the legal process will eventually lead to a complete acquittal.

“My lawyers sent a request for pardon to the president of the country today. I expect that anyone who wishes for the good of the country support this step,” Netanyahu said in a brief video statement released by his Likud party.

The prime minister, who has been on trial for five years, has not admitted guilt, and neither have his lawyers. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu should not receive a pardon unless he admits wrongdoing, expresses remorse and immediately withdraws from political life.

Pardons in Israel are usually granted only after a conviction, but Netanyahu’s lawyers argued the president can step in when public interest is at stake, saying intervention could help heal national divisions and promote unity.

President Isaac Herzog’s office described the request as “extraordinary” with “significant implications”. His office said the president “will responsibly and sincerely consider the request” after receiving the necessary opinions.

United States President, Donald Trump, recently wrote to Herzog urging him to consider approving the pardon, describing the case against Netanyahu as “a political, unjustified prosecution”.

Herzog’s office said the request will be sent to the justice ministry’s pardons department to gather assessments that will be forwarded to the president’s legal adviser, who will prepare a recommendation.

(Reuters)

Headline

US: Four Killed, 10 Others Wounded In California Shooting

Published

1 day ago

November 30, 2025

Editor

Four people were confirmed dead and 10 others injured after a shooting at a family gathering in California, United States on Saturday night, according to US police, who described the attack as a “targeted incident.”

The incident occurred inside a banquet hall in Stockton, northeast of San Francisco, shortly before 6:00 pm, spokesperson for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, Heather Brent, told reporters during a news briefing.

Brent said the victims, ranging from “juveniles to adults,” were rushed to nearby hospitals, noting that details about the shooting remained limited.

“What we have confirmed at this time is that there was a banquet hall where a family was celebrating. We have 14 victims of this shooting. Four of those are deceased,” Brent said.

“Early indications suggest that this may be a targeted incident. Investigators are exploring all possibilities at this time.”

The sheriff’s office posted on social media that detectives were “working to determine the circumstances leading up to this tragedy.”

“We are urging anyone with information, video footage, or who may have witnessed any part of this incident to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office immediately,” the post added.

Authorities said no suspect had been identified at the time of the report.

California Governor Gavin Newsom was briefed on the development, his office said in a social media statement.

Data from the Gun Violence Archive shows there have been 504 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, including the Stockton attack.

(AFP)

Headline

FULL LIST: US To Review Green Cards From 19 ‘Countries Of Concern’ After Washington Shooting

Published

3 days ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will review the immigration status of all permanent residents, or “Green Card” holders, from Afghanistan and 18 other countries following the attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

U.S. officials identified the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked alongside American forces in Afghanistan.

The individual was granted asylum earlier this year, not permanent residency, according to AfghanEvac, an organisation that assists Afghans resettled in the United States after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

“I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” said Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), on X.

The review follows a June executive order from President Trump classifying 19 countries as “of Identified Concern.”

The order banned entry for nearly all nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan. The full list of these countries is:

Afghanistan

Myanmar

Chad

Congo-Brazzaville

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Haiti

Iran

Libya

Somalia

Sudan

Yemen

A partial travel ban applies to seven additional countries, though some temporary work visas remain allowed: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.