NEW DELHI: An Indian student at Columbia University in the US, Ranjani Srinivasan, has self-deported from the country after her student visa was revoked for taking part in pro-Palestine protests.
The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Ranjani Srinivasan's visa was revoked on March 5, 2025, due to her involvement in supporting Hamas, which is a "designated terrorist organisation" in the US.
The Department of Homeland Security also mentioned that it had obtained video evidence of her using the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) app to self-deport on March 11, 2025.
Self-deporting allows individuals to leave voluntarily before facing formal deportation, thereby avoiding the possibility of being forcibly removed, as has been the case with other deportees recently sent back to India who had come to the US as illegal immigrants.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shared a video of the Indian student at the airport, stating that anyone "advocating for violence and terrorism should not be in the country."
"It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and 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 am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self-deport," she said in a post on X.
Columbia University has become a focal point for student protests in support of Palestine amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Last week, Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia student of Palestinian descent who had been at the forefront of pro-Palestinian protests on campus last year, was arrested by US authorities. While his green card was revoked, a federal judge has temporarily halted his deportation. Another Columbia University student, Leqaa Kordia, was also arrested by US authorities.
Rajani Srinivasan was a doctoral student at Columbia University. Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
The Indian national, Ranjani Srinivasan, holds a Bachelor's Degree from CEPT University in Ahmedabad and a Master's Degree from Harvard University, where she was awarded the Fulbright Nehru and Inlaks Scholarships. She has also worked for an environmental advocacy nonprofit in Washington, focusing on "frontier communities at risk from climate change," and served as a researcher for the West Philadelphia Landscape Project (WPLP) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.