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US immigration authorities have arrested a second activist linked to last spring’s pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in New York City.
Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was arrested in New Jersey, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Friday. The agency stated that Kordia had overstayed her student visa, which had been terminated in 2022 due to “lack of attendance.” It did not clarify whether she had been enrolled at Columbia or another institution.
Her arrest follows that of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University activist detained in New York last Saturday before being transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana.
DHS also confirmed that another activist, Ranjani Srinivasan, a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia, had her visa revoked on March 5. She chose to leave the US voluntarily earlier this week.
“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. “When you advocate for violence and terrorism, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country.”
Srinivasan’s lawyer, Ramzi Kassem, pushed back against the government’s claims, calling DHS’s statement “full of the falsehoods we’ve come to expect.” He argued that her visa was revoked simply for engaging in “protected political speech.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused pro-Palestinian activists of supporting Hamas, a group designated a terrorist organization by the US. He has argued that protesters like Khalil should be deported.
Khalil, a 30-year-old Syrian-born Columbia graduate and US green card holder, remains in detention. His case has sparked debate over free speech rights on college campuses and the legality of deporting a US permanent resident for political activism. His lawyers insist he was exercising his constitutional rights and deny that he has any ties to Hamas.
Meanwhile, DHS agents executed two search warrants on Thursday night in rooms on Columbia’s campus. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the agents were investigating whether the university was “harboring and concealing illegal aliens.”
The university’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, addressed the raid in a letter to students, stating: “No one was arrested or detained. No items were removed, and no further action was taken.”
The Trump administration has also withdrawn $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University, citing its alleged failure to combat antisemitism on campus. The decision adds to the growing controversy over how universities handle political activism and the extent of federal intervention in campus affairs.
Chioma Kalu
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