An Indian student who protested in support of Hamas and Palestine has been deported from the United States. The Trump administration has intensified its stance against any pro-Palestine or pro-Hamas movements in the country. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the visa of Indian student Ranjani Sreenivasan has been revoked.
Ranjani Sreenivasan, a student at Columbia University, was subsequently deported. According to the DHS, she was involved in activities supporting Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization. The US State Department canceled her visa on March 5, 2025. On March 11, she used the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency app to facilitate her voluntary deportation. The DHS confirmed that it had obtained video evidence of this process.
The US government has made it clear that Hamas supporters have three options: leave the country voluntarily, bear the cost of deportation themselves, or be forcibly deported via US military aircraft. US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem posted a video from the airport showing Sreenivasan’s departure. Noem stated that anyone supporting Hamas, violence, or terrorism has no place in the United States.
“Having a visa to live and study in the US is a privilege, not a right. If you advocate for violence and terrorism, we will revoke that privilege,” Noem said. She added that the US will not tolerate foreign nationals engaging in activities that threaten national security.
Expressing satisfaction, Noem remarked, “I am pleased to see one of Columbia University’s terror sympathizers using the CBP Home App for self-deportation.”
