Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested a second student who took part in anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, after a third student chose to leave the country.
Leqaa Kordia, a West Bank resident, had a student visa revoked in 2022 “for lack of attendance” and was detained by the agency for the expired visa.
The DHS claimed Kordia was previously arrested in April for an alleged role in the protests, but the New York Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that no arrest record exists under their name.
“Columbia has no record of this individual being registered as a current or former student at the University,” according to a university statement.
“It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in an announcement.
“When you advocate for violence and terrorism, your privileges should be revoked, and you should leave this country. I am glad to see that one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers used the CBP Home app to self-deport.”
Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate of the university in New York City, is being held by ICE due to his involvement in the protests. However, this sparked backlash from students and faculty, drawing the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
“To be clear: the First Amendment prohibits the government from retaliating against anyone for their speech. “Ripping someone from their home, stripping them of their immigration status, and detaining them solely for political reasons is a clear attempt by President Trump to silence dissent,” according to the ACLU website.
“And that is clearly unconstitutional. Political speech, no matter how controversial it may be to some, may never be used as a basis for punishment, including deportation.”
The Trump administration rejected $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University, which gained national attention for its encampment that supporters claimed was in support of Gaza.
President Donald Trump warned in a Truth Social post that Khalil was “the first of many arrests to come.”
“Following my previously signed Executive Orders, ICE proudly apprehended and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student on the campus of Columbia University,” Trump wrote on his Facebook page.
Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen, used the new “CBP Home” app to return to the country on March 11 after the federal government removed her student visa on March 5, according to a new DHS release.
