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Ranjani Srinivasan, a Columbia University student from India, self-deported from the US after her visa was revoked over pro-Palestine protests. She described the experience as a “dystopian nightmare”.
Ranjani Srinivasan self-deported after her visa was revoked by the Trump administration for supporting pro-Palestine protests. (X/Reuters)
Ranjani Srinivasan, a student from India at Columbia University who had to self-deport after her visa was revoked over pro-Palestine protests, recalled her “dystopian nightmare” in her first remarks.
Srinivasan, 37, who used the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) Home app to self-deport from the United States, shared that she found the atmosphere dangerous and feared “even the most low-level political speech could turn into this dystopian nightmare”.
“I’m fearful that even the most low-level political speech or just doing what we all do — like shout into the abyss that is social media — can turn into this dystopian nightmare where somebody is calling you a terrorist sympathizer and making you, literally, fear for your life and your safety,” Srinivasan, who was pursuing a PhD in urban planning at Columbia, said in an interview with New York Times.
Divulging reasons for her quick departure, said, “The atmosphere seemed so volatile and dangerous, so I just made a quick decision.”
The US Department of State confirmed that she self-deported on March 11, 2025, using the CBP Home App, and video footage of the process has been obtained. Ranjani Srinivasan was accused of supporting Hamas as a wave of pro-Palestinian protests swept the Columbia University and other US campuses last year during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
