Ranjani Srinivasan, 37, an Indian student studying a doctoral degree in Urban planning at Columbia University, self-deported from the US after her student visa was revoked and federal immigrants agents reaching at her place. In an interview to the New York Times, she described her experience as “dystopian nightmare” where she felt at risk.
“The atmosphere seemed so volatile and dangerous. I’m fearful that even the most low-level political speech… can turn into this dystopian nightmare where somebody is calling you a terrorist sympathiser and making you, literally, fear for your life and your safety,” Srinivasan was quoted by The New York Times as saying.
Her spontaneous decision made her cat leave with her friend, while abandoning the belongings. She got to know about her visa cancellation on March 5 from a US Consulate in Chennai through an email, and since then, authorities were searching for her. Things became challenging for her when she was entangled in government’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests, with accusations of supporting violence and connections to Hamas.
Her flight to Canada from LaGuardia Airport was a last-minute booking, while all in fear and uncertainty. The third visit of the agents with judicial warrant didn’t see Srinivasan at her home.
“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,” Kristi Noem, Secretary, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
How the incident unfolded
During pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia’s campus, Srinivasan was arrested at the entrance of the university’s grounds. She didn’t take part in it but was coming back home after a day with her friends. She got involved in an unrest situation where protestors and police confronted each other.
She reminisced that she was detained, along with 100 others, received two summons, where one was for hinderance to traffic, another was denial to disperse. Her case got over with no criminal records. At the time of renewing the visa, she didn’t reveal about summons assuming they got dropped and didn’t need to be informed. “Maybe that was my mistake,” she said, as per NYT.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association Greg Chen stated, “It is more rare for the government to act the way it has, such as in the cases at Columbia University, where they’re going on campus and conducting an operation to apprehend somebody.” On the other hand, Srinivasan’s lawyers believe she was targeted because of her speech and shared critical content against Israeli government’s actions in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Columbia University has come under immense pressure from the US government after the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a key person in last year’s protest against Israel. The Trump administration cancelled USD 400 million in federal grants and contracts to the school, mainly for medical research, as a result for not cracking down harder on students and faculty who went against Israel’s military action in Gaza last year.
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