US revokes visa of Indian scholar at Columbia University for ‘advocating violence, terrorism’

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Ranjani Srinivasan, a student of Urban Planning at the university, has self-deported using the CBP Home App.

“Ranjani Srinivasan, a citizen and national of India, entered the United States on a F-1 student visa as doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University. Srinivasan was involved in activities supporting Hammas, a terrorist organization,” the DHS said.

It added: “On March 5, 2025, the Department of State revoked her visa. The Department of Homeland Security has obtained video footage of her using the CBP Home App to self-deport on March 11.”

Officials didn’t immediately say what evidence they had that Srinivasan had advocated violence, reported the Associated Press.

Besides Srinivasan, federal immigration authorities have arrested a second person who participated in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University last year.

Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was arrested by immigration officers for overstaying her student visa, the Department of Homeland Security said. Kordia’s visa was terminated in January 2022 for “lack of attendance,” the department said.

Earlier this week, Mahmoud Khalil, a well-known Palestinian activist, was detained in Louisiana over his role in protests at Columbia against the war in Gaza.

The arrests and expulsions come amidst a crackdown of the Donald Trump administration on student activists, who they have deemed liable for arrest and deportation, for allegedly supporting antisemitic sentiment towards Israel.

Campuses across the country were rocked last year by student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, with some resulting in violent clashes involving police and pro-Israel counter-protesters.

Trump and other Republicans have broadly accused the protesters of supporting Hamas, a US-designated terrorist group whose deadly attack on October 7, 2023 against Israel sparked the war.

The Trump administration has already declared that it would revoke roughly $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University, citing the institution’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”