U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said 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.
Amid the controversy over pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, the US Department of Homeland Security has announced that Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian doctoral student from the university, whose visa was revoked on the allegations of supporting Hamas, has voluntarily left the country.
Reports suggest that the student used the CBP One app to self-deport her after her visa was cancelled.
Ranjani Srinivasan is an Indian national who was pursuing a doctoral degree in Urban Planning at Columbia University on an F-1 student visa.
According to DHS, it is alleged that Srinivasan was involved in activities supporting Hamas.
A Fulbright Scholar, Srinivasan has an impressive academic background.
Ranjani holds holds an M.Phil. in Urban Planning from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University, a Master's degree in Design from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) from CEPT University in India.
Her NYU Wagner bio highlights her research on land-labor relations in India's suburban towns, with a focus on the political economy of development and labor sociology.
The US Department of State revoked Srinivasan's visa on March 5, 2025. The department confirmed that she self-deported using the CBP One app on March 11, 2025.
A video footage of her departure was also obtained as part of the process.
Commenting on the case, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem issued a statement regarding the deportation: "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."
In recent days, there have been reports of protests in support of Palestine at Columbia University. The university is currently dealing with the fallout from pro-Palestinian protests on campus. The university has also revoked the degrees of a few students who took part in the protests and imposed suspensions and expulsions for several years.
The university has also faced strong backlash from the Trump administration, which cancelled $400 million in contracts with the university on March 7 due to the protests.
On March 10, the U.S. Department of Education sent letters to 60 institutions notifying them that they were under investigation for 'anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination' and warned them of possible law enforcement action against them if they did not 'protect Jewish students,' Al Jazeera Reported.
US authorities have also taken direct action against students involved in pro-Palestinian protests.
Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia student, who acted as a student negotiator with university officials until he completed his graduation in December, was arrested by immigration officials on Saturday, March 11.
According to reports, Khalil is Palestinian and grew up in Syria. He holds permanent residency in the US and is married to an American citizen, but now faces deportation.
Khalil's lawyer Amy Greer told reporters that he was inside his Columbia University home when officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency arrived to take him into custody.