Ranjani Srinivasan, a 37-year-old Indian student and Fulbright Scholarship recipient at Columbia University pursuing a doctoral degree at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, was expected to graduate this year. However, she left the US this month by becoming one of the first people to opt for self-deportation using the CBP Home App after the US Department of State revoked their visa on March 5, accusing them of “advocating for violence and terrorism.”
The app crafted by the Department of Homeland Security was introduced by the Donald Trump administration to get rid of undocumented immigrants from the country.
Also read | 'Atmosphere was dangerous': Ranjani Srinivasan explains why she left US
Elon Musk endorses CBP Home app for self-deportation
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, noted that the app makes filing a notice of intent to leave much easier, safer and more efficient. “The Biden Administration exploited the CBP One App to allow more than 1 million aliens to illegally enter the United States. With the launch of the CBP Home App, we are restoring integrity to our immigration system,” she said of the free to use on mobile devices app.
She added, “The CBP Home app gives aliens 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.”
{{/usCountry}}She added, “The CBP Home app gives aliens 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.”
{{/usCountry}}Billionaire Elon Musk has since also endorsed the new application designed for self-deportation. Re-posting a tweet from the US Customs and Border Protection, the DOGE chief wrote on X: “New app to assist in self-deportation!”
Indian Columbia student supported ‘Palestinian liberation’ via social media
Srinivasan arrived in the US on an F1 student visa. They employed the feature to lawfully self-deport to Canada and avoid the risk of arrest and detention after federal immigration agents visited their home twice.
According to CNN, the Indian national had been in the US since 2016 and their social media activity was limited to sharing or liking posts related to the war in Gaza. In 2023, they also signed an open letter authored by the Society of Architectural Historians, supporting “Palestinian liberation.”
Also read | As Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil faces US deportation, Columbia Journalism School speaks out
US officials brand her a ‘terrorist sympathiser’
On the contrary, Kristi Noem called Srinivasan a “terrorist sympathiser,” writing on an X post that people who “advocated terrorism and violence” must not stay in the US. Meanwhile, Srinivasan issued a statement via CNN: “Having my visa revoked and then losing my student status has upended my life and future — not because of any wrongdoing, but because I exercised my right to free speech.”
The Indian national’s attorneys, on the other hand, maintained that their client didn’t participate in a protest last year in which students occupied Hamilton Hall. The attorneys said that the same night, Srinivasan was returning home after a night out with friends when the police had barricaded the streets, hindering their access to the apartment.
Srinivasan was detained during this chaos. Shortly after that, they received a court summons and were charged with failure to disperse and blocking the sidewalk. These charges were eventually dismissed, and they didn’t face any disciplinary action.