The Trump administration has announced the arrest of a second pro-Palestine student activist at the US prestigious university Columbia University, following the widely protested detention of Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil. 

In a press release on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security accused Leqaa Kordia, an occupied West Bank Palestinian student at Columbia University, of overstaying her F-1 student visa, which was revoked in January 2022 due to "lack of attendance", The New Arab reported.

The statement also revealed that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had detained her for deportation. 

Kordia was arrested in April 2024 for participating in antiwar protests at Columbia University. 

Meanwhile, the visa of another doctoral student, Indian citizen Ranjani Srinivasan, was revoked on March 5 for "advocating for violence and terrorism".

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Srinivasan chose to "self-deport".

The Associated Press reported that Department of Homeland Security agents also searched the on-campus residences of two Columbia University students on Thursday, although no arrests were made during the searches. 

The announcement followed remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who stated that the US would likely revoke more student visas in the coming days.  

The Trump administration has consistently equated participation in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza with support for Hamas and has accused demonstrators of backing "terrorists." 

In a statement to The Guardian on Friday, Daniel Levy, a spokesperson for Betar US, a far-right pro-Israel group, confirmed that the organization had provided "thousands of names" of students and faculty to the Trump administration for potential deportation over their participation in Gaza war protests. 

Before Kordia's arrest, in less than a week, a Palestinian student at Columbia University had already been taken into ICE custody for deportation, igniting nationwide protests and raising concerns over the suppression of pro-Palestine sentiment and free speech.  

This comes amid growing criticism of Israel's 16-month assault on Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023.  

Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism released a statement noting an "alarming chill" among its international students over the past week.  

"Many of our international students have felt afraid to attend classes and events on campus," the statement, signed by "The Faculty of Columbia Journalism School," explained. It went on to say, "They are right to be worried."
Mahmoud Khalil was a leading figure in Columbia’s Gaza solidarity rallies and encampment, becoming the public spokesperson for the protests that took place.

Beyond Columbia, pro-Palestine campus protests spread nationwide and globally, protesting the devastating Israeli military campaign that has killed over 48,500 Palestinians. 

Khalil, a legal US resident with a green card, was arrested and initially placed in immigration detention in New Jersey, before being transferred to Louisiana. 

The Palestinian graduate student has since become a symbol of President Donald Trump’s efforts to condemn last year’s protests as antisemitic and anti-American.  

Arab, Muslim, and Jewish students and faculty members who took part in the protests at Columbia University have maintained that criticizing Israel and advocating for Palestinian rights does not equate to antisemitism. 

The latest development comes after the Trump administration published a letter on Thursday, calling for Columbia's Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS) to be placed under "academic receivership". 

This would mean that an external authority takes control, typically as a penalty for mismanagement. 

The letter warned that failure to comply could harm "Columbia University’s continued financial relationship with the United States government". 

The proposal for receivership was among one of several demands by the administration. 

The administration has also advocated for the abolition of the university’s judicial board for handling disciplinary matters, a ban on masks on campus, and the adoption of a controversial definition of antisemitism, stoking fears that legitimate criticisms of Israel would be restricted.