Columbia University abandoned GSAPP PhD candidate Ranjani Srinivasan to abduction by ICE, cancelling her student status and housing agreement without due process. She was forced to leave the country for Canada, where she is currently.

On the morning of March 6, Ranjani Srinivasan was notified that her student visa had been revoked. The Columbia International Student Services Offices (ISSO) initially reassured Ranjani that her visa revocation would not have a bearing on her enrollment and she would be able to continue to work and study uninterrupted. However, on March 8, ICE arrived at Ranjani’s apartment in Columbia housing seeking entry without a warrant. The next day, ISSO informed Ranjani of her removal from the SEVIS system and disenrollment from the University, contradicting the previous assurances she had received. This notice demanded her to vacate student housing immediately, followed by a visit from a University administrator to confirm her removal. With no housing or visa and a continued stream of threats from ICE to detain her, Ranjani made the difficult decision to leave the country for Canada.

Columbia has made its students less safe under already precarious and dangerous circumstances. Columbia’s unwillingness to protect Ranjani has opened her up to targeting by the Department of Homeland Security and harassment by right-wing groups. It is also evident, from this event along with the the abduction of Mahmoud Khalil, that Columbia University is willing to sacrifice its own students in an attempt to appease repressive and antidemocratic interests openly hostile to the mission and very existence of higher education

Add your name to demand that Columbia re-enroll Ranjani, advocate for the reinstatement of her visa, and defend and support non-US citizen students.