Arrested: 2nd person tied to pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in US

NEW YORK – A second person who took part in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University has been arrested by US immigration agents, after overstaying a student visa, federal officials said on March 14, the latest turn in a crisis engulfing the Ivy League institution.

The person, identified by authorities as Ms Leqaa Kordia, is Palestinian and from the West Bank. She was arrested in Newark on March 13, officials added.

Her student visa was terminated in January 2022, and she was arrested by the New York City police in April 2024 for her role in a campus demonstration, the Homeland Security Department said.

The agency also released a video on March 14 that it said shows a Columbia student, identified as Ms Ranjani Srinivasan, preparing to enter Canada after her student visa was revoked.

The announcements, by Ms Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, reflected an escalation of the Trump administration’s focus on Columbia, where protests over the war in the Gaza Strip in 2024 ignited a national debate over free speech and antisemitism, and prompted similar demonstrations at dozens of other campuses.

The actions came during a tumultuous week at the university, which has experienced a series of escalating controversies since the

arrest by federal immigration agents

last weekend of Mr Mahmoud Khalil. The recent Columbia graduate is a prominent figure in pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations.

On March 14, more than 200 students gathered outside Columbia’s main campus gates to protest its handling of the arrest. Demonstrators wore kaffiyehs, waved Palestinian flags and carried banners with slogans like “Free Mahmoud” and “Columbia You Can’t Hide”.

The protest unfolded less than 24 hours after homeland security agents entered the campus with federal warrants and searched two dormitory rooms. No one was detained and nothing was taken, according to the university’s interim president Katrina Armstrong.

Social media posts by Ms Noem on March 14 appeared to signal that Columbia continued to be a subject of Trump administration’s scrutiny.

She posted a video on X that appears to show a woman walking through LaGuardia Airport with a small suitcase. Ms Noem identified the person as Ms Srinivasan and said she used a US Customs and Border Protection app to notify the government of her intention to self-deport.

Ms Srinivasan’s dormitory room was one of those searched, according to her lawyer and roommate.

Ms Noem said in a statement: “It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America.”

Mr Nathan Yaffe, a member of Ms Srinivasan’s legal team, confirmed that federal agents entered her dormitory room on March 13 in an effort to detain her or seek information about her whereabouts.

The past week has been fraught with crisis on Columbia’s upper Manhattan campus. The Trump administration demanded on March 13 that the university make far-reaching changes to its student discipline and admissions policies before any negotiations regarding a

cancellation of US$400 million (S$535 million) in government grants

and contracts could begin.

Federal officials wrote in a letter that the university had a week to formalise its definition of antisemitism, ban the wearing of masks “intended to conceal identity or intimidate” and put the Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department under “academic receivership”.

The government said the moves are necessary because of what it described as Columbia’s failure to protect Jewish students from harassment. Officials from three government agencies wrote that the school “has fundamentally failed to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment”.

Mr Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, said during a speech at the Justice Department on March 14 that the administration is investigating whether incidents on campus violated civil rights protections or federal terrorism laws.

“This is long overdue,” he added.

But civil liberties advocates argued that the government’s demands would not only erode free speech and academic freedom at Columbia but would also have a chilling effect on universities across the country. Mr Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia, said the “subjugation of universities to official power is a hallmark of autocracy”.

Others are particularly concerned by the demand for the university to adopt a definition of antisemitism that could penalise those who are critical of Israel.

Mr Tyler Coward, lead counsel for government affairs at free speech and legal defence group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, called the letter “a blueprint to supercharge censorship at America’s colleges and universities”.

“Colleges across the country are likely reading this letter this morning and thinking they better censor speech – or they’re next,” he said.

A university spokesperson said on March 13 that Columbia is “reviewing the letter” from the government agencies. “We are committed at all times to advancing our mission, supporting our students, and addressing all forms of discrimination and hatred on our campus,” she added.

After the dormitory search, Ms Armstrong said in a note to students and staff members late on March 13 that she is “heartbroken” over the development, and that Columbia is making every effort to ensure the safety of its students, faculty and staff.

In a separate action on March 13, Columbia announced a range of disciplinary actions against students who occupied a campus building last spring, including expulsions and suspensions, among the steps that Trump administration officials called for in their letter.

The punishments included “multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations and expulsions”, the university said. It is unclear how many students had been punished.

Among those expelled is Mr Grant Miner, a Jewish graduate student who was part of a student coalition that has called for Columbia to divest from companies connected to Israel, according to the student workers’ union at the university, which he leads.

The union has accused the university of targeting its members. A Columbia spokesperson said on March 14 that it is “unfortunate” that the group is trying to “conflate student discipline with employment matters”, and that the accusation is false.

Mr Miner, a doctoral student in the English and comparative literature department, said “this is an egregious attempt to break the union and squash the movement against genocide in Palestine”.

“We will not be intimidated on either front,” he added. NYTIMES