Another Columbia student targeted by ICE says she wasn't involved in protests

Yahoo

17-03-2025

Days after federal immigration agents showed up to Ranjani Srinivasan's apartment – prompting her to leave the country out of fear she would be taken into custody – the student is disputing the Trump administration's account of her story.
Srinivasan, 37, an Indian national and Fulbright Scholarship recipient, says she did not participate in the protests that rocked Columbia University's campus last year and that she is being targeted for exercising her right to free speech.
Department of Homeland Security officials identified her last week as one of two more Columbia University students they targeted for immigration action as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on international students who participated in protests against the Israel-Hamas war.
But Srinivasan, who has been in the United States since 2016, when she enrolled as a graduate student at Harvard University, says she did not participate in any of the protests.
Her social media activity was limited to sharing or liking posts highlighting human rights violations in the war in Gaza, and in December 2023, she signed an open letter published by the Society of Architectural Historians in support of 'Palestinian liberation.'
Srinivasan, who enrolled at Columbia in 2020 and is also an architect, was pursuing a doctoral degree at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. She was expected to graduate this year.
Since leaving the US last week, Srinivasan says her enrollment has been revoked without explanation from the university and that she's not sure if she will be able to complete the degree she has been working toward for the past five years.
'Having my visa revoked and then losing my student status has upended my life and future — not because of any wrongdoing, but because I exercised my right to free speech,' Srinivasan said in a statement to CNN.
Columbia University declined to comment on a request regarding Srinivasan's enrollment.
Although Srinivasan says she did not participate in protests last year, she was arrested by the New York Police Department the night students occupied Hamilton Hall. The standoff led to dozens of student arrests.
Srinivasan's attorneys say the night the Hamilton Hall incident unfolded, she was returning home from a night out with friends. As she approached her Columbia University apartment, she found the streets barricaded and police did not allow her to access her apartment.
During the confusion, Srinivasan was detained. She received a court summons and was charged with failure to disperse and blocking the sidewalk. Both charges were dismissed, and she has never faced any disciplinary action, her attorneys said.
Srinivasan first learned something was amiss with her visa two weeks ago after she was contacted by the US Consulate in India, which notified her that her student visa had been revoked.
Srinivasan contacted Columbia University's International Student Services Office for help and was told that visa revocations sometimes happen, and that she could simply apply for a new visa when or if she left the country.
Until then, she would have legal status as an enrolled student and would be able to continue her teaching duties at Barnard College, the university told her.
It was during that phone call that immigration officers first showed up at Srinivasan's door. She says she did not let them in.
According to Srinivasan's attorneys, immigration officers returned to her apartment the following evening around the same time that federal immigration officers descended on Columbia University's campus and arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian activist who was closely involved with the campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war.
Khalil, who is married to a US citizen and is a permanent legal resident, remains in custody at an ICE detention facility in Louisiana.
Khalil completed work on his master's degree from Columbia University in December. He was arrested and detained by federal agents on March 8 after his lawyer said the Trump administration revoked his green card.
Khalil's wife, who is eight months pregnant, was present during his arrest.
Nearly 100 people were arrested Thursday after protesters gathered at Trump Tower in Manhattan Thursday to denounce Khalil's detainment. Khalil's attorneys filed a motion for his release on Friday, arguing Khalil's First Amendment and due process rights were violated during his arrest.
Srinivasan's attorneys say the officers did not have a warrant during their initial visit and threatened to return to her apartment until they could contact her.
By Tuesday, Srinivasan made the decision to leave the US for Canada.
'I came to the U.S. to study. American universities are places where students can learn and engage in political discourse without fear of retaliation. I simply want to complete my studies so I can finish what I started,' Srinivasan said in a statement.
Last week, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted a video on X showing Srinivasan walking through an airport as she made her way out of the country. In a post, Noem said Srinivasan had used a US Customs and Border Protection app to 'self-deport' — a claim which her attorneys now deny.
'Despite doing nothing wrong, Ms. Srinivasan booked a flight out of the country to comply with U.S. law, which gave her a 15-day deadline to depart after DHS illegally terminated her student status,' Nathan Yaffe, an attorney for Srinivasan, said in a statement.
'The fact that DHS falsely claims she 'self-deported' via a CBP app only underscores that the administration's targeting of her is built on fabrications, not facts,' Yaffe said.
CNN has reached out to DHS officials for comment.
DHS confirmed last week that Srinivasan's visa was revoked in accordance with an obscure legal statute that gives the secretary of state authority to act if he or she believes a non-citizen 'would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.'
CNN previously reported the Trump administration is using the seldom-used law to target students who may have been involved in protests last year.
DHS officials also confirmed Srinivasan failed to disclose the two citations in her most recent visa, although it is not clear if that is the sole basis for the revocation.
CNN's Chelsea Bailey contributed to this report.