One Columbia student leaves country, another arrested as DHS targets protesters

• Another Columbia student, Mahmoud Khalil, is currently in detention and challenging his removal from the country for participating in pro-Palestine protests on campus. Khalil is a green card holder and has not yet been charged with any crime.
• Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has urged people to "self-deport" and recently launched a new mobile app feature to help people do so as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration.
• Noem on X posted a short video surveillance clip of the student boarding a plane to leave the country on March 11 and said she used the new app.
• The second student was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations officers.

The latest: The State Department revoked the student's visa on March 5, using the authority of the Immigration and Nationality Act, according to a DHS official.

• The DHS official said that last April the student was issued two court summons for obstructing traffic and failing to disperse related to protesting. Those citations weren't disclosed on the student's latest visa application form, and so officials revoked the visa.
• The student left the country on March 11, which DHS confirmed with video surveillance footage the next day.

The second student overstayed a visa that expired in 2022, according to the DHS official. This student was also arrested by local law enforcement last April while participating in a pro-Palestine protest.

• The official would not say if this student is still in detention or if they have a removal order.
• DHS declined to share additional details about both students ' participation in protests.

What they're saying: "It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America. When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked and should not be in this country. I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self-deport," Noem said on X.