Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank who stayed in the U.S. on an expired visa, was arrested by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Newark officers on Friday. Indian national Ranjani Srinivasan used the Customs and Border Protection Home app to self-deport herself after her visa was revoked.
“It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country. I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self-deport.”
DHS recently instated the CBP Home app to make it easier for illegal immigrants to self-deport. Noem posted a video on X of Srinivasan “using the CBP Home App to self-deport on March 11.”
It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live & study in the United States of America.
When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked and you should not be in this country.
I’m glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers… pic.twitter.com/jR2uVVKGCM
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) March 14, 2025
DHS said Srinivasan “was involved in activities supporting Hamas,” and the State Department revoked her visa on March 5. Srinivasan entered the U.S. on an F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in urban planning at Columbia University.
Kordia overstayed her student visa by over three years, as it was terminated on Jan. 26, 2022, for lack of attendance. She was arrested in April 2024 for her “involvement in pro-Hamas protests at Columbia University in New York City.”
The Friday arrest comes less than a week after immigration officers arrested Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil for allegedly “supporting a terrorist-type organization.” His arrest sparked large protests, including one organized by a terrorist-tied group occupying Trump Tower in New York City and a lawsuit targeting President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The lawsuit claims the Trump administration’s actions against Khalil amount to “targeted, retaliatory detention and attempted removal of a student protestor because of his constitutionally protected speech.”
TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
More Columbia students will likely be arrested in the coming weeks, as the pro-Israel group that claimed credit for Khalil’s arrest says it has notified the Trump administration of thousands of international students engaged in anti-Israel campus protests.
“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” Trump said on social media on Monday.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
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