US arrests second pro-Palestinian Columbia University protester
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19 hours ago

Max Matza  
BBC News

Watch: Will arrest of Gaza protester impact campus protests?

US immigration authorities have announced the arrest of a second activist who participated in pro-Palestinian protests last spring at Columbia University in New York City.

Leqaa Kordia, who is a Palestinian and from the West Bank, was arrested in New Jersey, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on Friday.

The statement said another student, Ranjani Srinivasani, who has Indian citizenship, chose to "self-deport" by leaving the US earlier this week.

This follows the arrest of Columbia campus activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained on Saturday in New York before being flown to a jail in Louisiana.

The DHS statement says that Ms Kordia had overstayed her student visa, which had been terminated in 2022 "for lack of attendance". It did not say whether she had been attending Columbia or another institution.

She had previously been arrested in April 2024 for taking part in protests at Columbia University, according to DHS.

Ms Srinivasan, a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, had her visa revoked on 5 March.

"It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America," said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a statement.

"When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country."

Ms Srinivasan's lawyer Ramzi Kassem told the Wall Street Journal that the government's statement was "full of the falsehoods we've come to expect of DHS".

Mr Kassem told the paper the government "violated basic rights" by revoking a visa "simply for engaging in protected political speech".

The BBC contacted a lawyer for Ms Srinivasan for comment on Friday evening.

Contact details for Mr Kodia's lawyer were not Immediately available.

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US President Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged that pro-Palestinian activists, including Mr Khalil, support Hamas, a group designated a terrorist organisation by the US.

The president argues these protesters should be deported.

Mr Khalil, 30, is a Syrian-born Columbia graduate and US green card holder.

His case has raised questions about free speech on college campuses and the legal process that would allow for the deportation of a US permanent resident.

His lawyers say he was exercising free speech rights to demonstrate in support of Palestinians in Gaza and against US support for Israel.

Mr Khalil's lawyers deny that he supports Hamas.

Additionally, on Thursday night DHS agents executed two search warrants in rooms on the Columbia campus.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche of the US justice department said the agents were searching for evidence that the university was "harboring and concealing illegal aliens on its campus".

"That investigation is ongoing, and we are also looking at whether Columbia's handling of earlier incidents violated civil rights laws and included terrorism crimes," he said.

Columbia Interim President Katrina Armstrong said in a  to the campus that she was "heartbroken" to inform them of the federal raid.

"No one was arrested or detained. No items were removed, and no further action was taken," she said.

The Trump administration has also pulled $400m (£310m) of federal funding from Columbia University, saying it failed to fight antisemitism on campus.

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