Indian scholar Ranjani Srinivasan self-deports after Trump admin revokes visa for allegedly ‘supporting’ Hamas
An Indian student has self-deported herself to Canada after her visa was revoked for allegedly “advocating for violence and terrorism” by supporting the Palestinian group Hamas. The Indian student has been identified as Ranjani Srinivasan.
Who is Ranjani Srinivasan, and why has she deported herself from the US?
Ranjani Srinivasan, is a student of Columbia University and had entered the US on an F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning.
Her visa was revoked on March 5 and instead of waiting for President Donald Trump’s administration to arrest and deport her, Srinivasan, on March 11 made use of the recently launched Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home App to self-deport.
As per the Department of Homeland Security, Srinivasan was “involved in activities supporting” Hamas.
Video of Ranjani Srinivasan leaving the US goes viral
A video of Srinivasan, who self-deported from the US, is going viral on social media.
Watch it here:
Sharing the video, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, in a statement on X, said that it was a “privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America”.
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“When you advocate for violence and terrorism, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country.”
Labelling the Indian scholar as a “terrorist sympathiser,” Noem added, “I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathisers use the CBP Home app to self-deport.”
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What is the CBP Home app?
The CBP Home app was launched by the US Department of Homeland Security on March 10. It includes a self-deportation reporting feature for those illegal migrants in the country.
Using the self deportation feature, individuals illegally staying in the US can submit their intent to depart the country. As per the Homeland Security Department, the CBP app gives such individuals the option to “leave now and self-deport, so they may still have the opportunity to return legally in the future and live the American dream. If they don’t, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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