Indian student describes arrival of federal agents ‘terrifying’

Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian student at Columbia University opted to self-deport after her visa was revoked over her involvement in pro-Palestinian protests on the campus

New York: Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian student at Columbia University opted to self-deport after her visa was revoked. She described the moment when federal immigration agents knocked on the door as “terrifying.”

While immigration officials were searching for Srinivasan, 37, an international PhD student from India, she left for Canada. “The atmosphere seemed so volatile and dangerous,” Srinivasan said.  “So I just made a quick decision.”

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Her visa was revoked for allegedly “advocating for violence and terrorism” and involvement in activities supporting Palestinian militant group Hamas. She entered the United States on F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University.

Srinivasan, a Fulbright recipient, was caught in the dragnet of President Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrators through the use of federal immigration powers.

Columbia had withdrawn her enrollment from the university because her legal status had been terminated.

“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.

Srinivasan’s lawyers accused the Trump administration of revoking her visa for engaging in “protected political speech,” saying she was denied “any meaningful form of due process” to challenge the visa revocation.

The Homeland Security Department said that Srinivasan failed to disclose two court summonses related to protests on Columbia’s campus during visa renewal last year.

The Trump administration’s targeting of students with visas at a university enveloped in a cultural firestorm opened a new front in the President’s attempts to ramp up deportations and tamp down pro-Palestinian views.

The President cancelled $400 million in grants to the university after accusing it of failing to protect Jewish students.