(NEW YORK) — A Cornell University graduate student filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at going after universities and “foreign national” protesters, then he was asked to surrender to ICE.
Momodou Taal, a Ph.D. student in Africana Studies at Cornell University, filed the suit on Saturday hoping to prevent the administration from targeting him and others who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests. An attorney for Taal said he had been targeted by some of the same groups that had advocated for Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest and that his client feared he could be next.
Taal is a citizen of the U.K. and Gambia and is in the United States on a student visa.
According to court records, Taal was temporarily suspended from Cornell in April and September of 2024 for his participation in student protests. Instead of imposing sanctions that could have affected his immigration status, the university chose to allow Taal to continue studying remotely until Spring 2025 when his full access to the campus would be restored, his lawyers said.
In an X post on Wednesday, Taal said law enforcement agents “from an unidentified agency” had been seen parked outside his home in Ithaca, New York.
“Trump is attempting to detain me to prevent me from having my day in court,” he wrote.
On Thursday, attorney Eric Lee filed an affidavit, stating, “It appears the government is attempting to detain Mr. Taal imminently.” Witnesses had seen an undercover law enforcement official parked outside Taal’s home, his attorney said. The man allegedly showed the witnesses a badge “indicating he is a member of law enforcement.”
Taal’s attorneys petitioned for a temporary restraining order seeking to prevent his arrest.
However, on Friday, his attorneys said they received an e-mail from a Justice Department lawyer asking Taal to turn himself in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“ICE invites Mr. Taal and his counsel to appear in-person at the HSI Office in Syracuse at a mutually agreeable time for personal service of the NTA and for Mr. Taal to surrender to ICE custody. Accordingly, if you are interested in proposing such a date and time, we will promptly forward it to ICE for consideration,” the email read.
On Friday, Lee posted on X and condemned the Trump administration’s move.
“The Trump administration responded to Momodou Taal’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the executive orders by sending agents to stake out his house, he said. When we asked the Court to enjoin the administration from detaining Mr. Taal as the case progresses, the administration responded by ordering him to surrender to ICE. This does not happen in a democracy.”
A hearing has been set for Tuesday.
ABC News has reached out to ICE for comment.
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