Throughout the month, universities across the nation see crackdowns against political dissent. In just March alone, the Trump administration hunted down and attempted to deport at least six university students whose legal status was suddenly revoked by the State Department.
The students known to have been targeted by ICE this month each held an active visa or green card. They were all targeted for their support for Palestine and engagement with on-campus protests and sit-ins.
Below are the university students currently targeted by ICE at the time of this post on March 27, 2025. This post is dated March 5th for the first known case of a pro-Palestine student having their student visa revoked.
Ranjani Srinivasan – A 31-year-old PhD student at Columbia University. Ranjani was forced to flee the US after her visa was terminated on March 5. According to Srinivasan, she received threats by ICE, who showed up to her home without a warrant. A video of Ranjani walking in the airport went viral, with the US secretary of homeland security posting the video and calling Ranjani a “terrorist.”
Mahmoud Khalil – A 29 year old Palestinian alumni from Columbia University who graduated this past December. Mahmoud, a student organizer, was abducted and detained by ICE agents on March 8. Agents told him his green card was going to be terminated. Mahmoud helped lead campus protests and sit-ins at Columbia to protest the genocide of Palestinians.
Yunseo Chung – A 21-year-old Columbia student who has been in the US since she was 7. Chung was hunted down by ICE, who on March 9, showed up to her parents’ home in an effort to arrest and deport her. On March 10, Chung’s lawyer was notified by a federal attorney that her green card had been revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Chung was not a campus protest leader and mildly attended pro-Palestine protests. The 21-year-old student is suing the Trump administration in an effort to fight her deportation. On March 25, a New York federal judge blocked ICE from detaining her.
Momodou Taal – A 30-year-old Cornell University graduate. On March 21, Taal received an email from federal attorneys urging him to turn himself into immigration officials. His visa was then revoked. According to Taal, the Trump administration is going after him for engaging in pro-Palestine protests. Similarly to Chung, Taal is currently suing the Trump administration to fight his deportation.
Rumeysa Ozturk – A 30-year-old Tufts University PhD student who wrote an op-ed regarding BDS. Ozturk was taken on March 25 while walking near her university apartment by officers wearing plain clothes, face masks, and using unmarked vehicles. On March 27, Ozturk’s visa was revoked. As of this writing, no charges have been filed against Ozturk.
Alireza Doroudi – A mechanical engineering doctoral student. Doroudi was arrested by ICE at his home on March 25. At the time of this writing, the agency has not issued a statement regarding the reason for Doroudi’s arrest nor have they listed the detention facility at which he is being held.
This assault on the rights of students who express pro-Palestine sentiment comes after Trump’s promise to expel “terrorists” and “pro-Hamas sympathizers.”
On January 29, Trump signed the executive order “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism.” The executive order cites October 7th as “unleashing a wave of vile antisemitism discrimination.” The order demands the analysis and inventory of all court cases involving institutions of higher education that have engaged in “civil-rights violations related to or arising from Post-October 7, 2023.”
The EO allows the federal government to engage in its process of vetting pro-Palestine university students, who are here with a visa or green card status, in order to revoke their legal status and deport them for fostering political dissent and going against the U.S. sponsored genocide in Gaza.
Author’s Notes
Today, it is visa and green card holders. Tomorrow, it may just be a U.S. citizen. The parameters and standards to define what the Trump administration can legally do, regarding the stripping of citizens’ rights, will soon be thrown out the window.
From ignoring judges’ orders to going against constitutional rights, Trump’s administration blatantly puts not just non-citizens at risk, but every citizen of the United States. The actions defined by the Trump administration above paint a picture-perfect image of the authoritarian future the administration is leading us towards.
