Updated March 26, 2025
Recently, news has emerged that many non-citizen students – including South Asians – are facing harsh immigration consequences and infringement of First Amendment rights in the current political climate. Below, the South Asian American Policy Working Group offers a Community Explainer with background information, messaging tips, and ways to engage. Please note that the information below does not constitute legal advice, and that developments are quickly occurring, so please be sure to check trusted news sources for the most accurate, up-to-date information.
South Asian students on college campuses around the country have long engaged in community building and activism around a range of issues, including Palestinian solidarity. Recently, non-citizen students on college campuses have reported facing violations on two fronts: the criminalization of their immigration status and the infringement of their First Amendment rights.
How are non-citizen students being affected?
A number of immigrant students are facing harsh immigration consequences, seemingly connected to the expression of their viewpoints in support of Palestinian human rights. Below is a brief summary, based on news reports:
Ranjani Srinivasan is a Fulbright scholar and doctoral student at Columbia University from India whose student visa was abruptly revoked on March 5th. Shortly thereafter, ICE agents repeatedly came to Ms. Srinivasan’s campus apartment, as detailed in her statement here, and Columbia University withdrew her student enrollment. Ms. Srinivasan hastily fled to Canada. Footage showing her boarding a flight was shared on social media by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who celebrated Ms. Srinivasan’s so-called “self-deportation” and claimed that she was advocating “violence and terrorism.” Ms. Srinivasan notes that she signed open letters and shared posts on social media expressing concerns about the genocide in Gaza. While she had not been involved or even present in the US during many of the protests at Columbia, she was arrested as a bystander when the NYPD conducted an enforcement action on campus against Palestine solidarity protesters; the charges were dismissed, according to her legal team.
Badar Khan Suri is an Indian citizen with a valid student visa to pursue his studies as a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University. On March 17, Dr. Khan Suri was arrested by masked DHS agents outside of his home, and told that his visa had been revoked. On March 19, a representative for DHS posted a statement claiming that Dr. Khan Suri was “deportable” because he is actively “spreading…propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media” and “has close connections to a known or suspected terrorist.” Suri’s lawyer notes that his client has not been charged with a crime and that DHS has failed to provide evidence to support the government’s claims. Georgetown University’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding released a statement on March 20, 2025, noting that “[Dr. Khan Suri] was arrested in the context of a campaign by the Trump Administration to destroy higher education in the United States and punish their political opponents.” A federal judge has ordered that Dr. Khan Suri cannot be removed from the US without further order of the court.
Mahmoud Khalil: Mahmoud Khalil, a former student organizer at Columbia University and a legal permanent resident was detained and arrested by ICE outside of his apartment. The federal government has defended Khalil’s detention, claiming that the Secretary of State has discretion to deport noncitizens if there is reasonable grounds to believe that their presence or actions in the US would adversely affect foreign policy. No evidence has been provided as to these claims. A federal court has ordered that Khalil cannot be removed from the US as his case moves through the legal system. Read Khalil’s letter, “My Name is Mahmoud Khalil and I Am a Political Prisoner” (March 18, 2025).
Leqaa Kordia: DHS agents arrested and detained Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian student from the West Bank, on the grounds that she overstayed her F-1 student visa. Kordia was flagged by DHS for her involvement in the protests for Palestinian human rights at Columbia.
Yunseo Chung: Ms. Chung is a 21-year-old Columbia University student and lawful permanent resident who has been in the U.S. since her family immigrated from South Korea when she was 7. She has filed a lawsuit against the federal government to stop efforts to detain and/or deport her and also seeking to bar the government from targeting any noncitizen for deportation based on constitutionally protected speech and pro-Palestinian advocacy. A federal court has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the government from detaining or deporting Ms. Chung.
Why should we be concerned about the threats to immigrant students on college campuses?
These attacks on immigrant students reveal an alarming approach by the Trump Administration to suppress First Amendment activity around Palestinian human rights, weaponize the immigration system, and brand non-citizen students as national security threats. These actions place targeted students in physical danger, endanger their privacy, and cast suspicion on the motives of all immigrant students. And, they create a broader chilling effect on free speech and assembly by immigrants and citizens alike.
The federal government’s actions seem to be rooted in several executive orders, including Executive Order 14161 (Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats) and Executive Order 14188 (Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism). Taken together, these executive orders call for extreme screening and vetting in visa programs and direct federal agencies to develop measures that protect the American people from foreign nationals who “provide aid, advocacy, or support for foreign terrorists.” Additionally, the orders authorize the creation of mechanisms to monitor, surveil, and report on speech by non-citizen students engaged in activities involving solidarity with Palestine, and directing the use of immigration enforcement tools against perceived offenders. For more information about the impact of the recent executive actions on students and free speech, read Criminalization of Solidarity by Muslims for Just Futures, a member of the South Asian American Policy Working Group.
Various responses are emerging to challenge these federal actions. Two students at Cornell University, Sriram Parasurama and Momodou Taal, are suing the Trump Administration in order to block executive orders that criminalize protected speech and activities. Mahmoud Khalil and other Columbia students are suing Columbia and the House Education and Workforce Committee for violating Khalil’s privacy rights by sharing his disciplinary records with the government. Khalil is also seeking a court order blocking the government from revoking his green card due to his advocacy for Palestinian human rights, and, more broadly, blocking the government from revoking anyone’s immigration status for political speech.
How can South Asian community members respond?
Share the below key messages with community members and networks, and in op eds:
● People should not be targeted for exercising their protected First Amendment rights, regardless of their immigration status or the scope of their involvement in constitutionally protected activities.
● No one should be subjected to immigration, academic, and professional consequences for engaging in constitutionally protected activities, including support for Palestinian human rights.
● The federal government must not weaponize the immigration system to prevent non-citizens from sharing their viewpoints and exercising their constitutionally protected rights to free speech and assembly.
● Colleges and universities have a responsibility to preserve the rights of all students and to offer guidance, support, and due process protections.
● The immigration enforcement actions targeting students like Ms. Srinivasan and Mr. Suri are occurring in a broader anti-immigrant climate. Around the country, South Asian immigrants report facing increased targeting, raids, and deportations. Others have reported inhumane removal proceedings such as being handcuffed, denied water or bathroom use, and civil rights violations on 40 hour deportation flights. Reports are also emerging of Indian seniors with green cards who are facing secondary inspections, overnight detentions, and pressure to voluntarily surrender their green cards at American airports. Read South Asian American Policy Working Group’s Statement on Immigration Executive Orders, January 2025).
Urge policymakers and universities to take action.
Lawmakers at the federal and state levels must speak out and defend the rights of all immigrants to exercise First Amendment rights without fear of being targeted by the government. Colleges and universities must reassure immigrant students of their rights to free speech and ensure student access to due process, legal representation, and protection in the event of targeting.
Support students.
Community groups around the country can support students on college campuses exercising their constitutional rights in the United States by supporting student organizations, providing Know Your Rights trainings, speaking out on their behalf, and offering legal and mental health resources, as needed. Community members can sign the petition here, calling on Columbia to re-enroll Ranjani’s re-enrollment, to push for reinstatement of her visa, and to defend all noncitizen students at the university.
Members of broader university communities, including faculty, staff, donors and alumni, can speak out to support affected students and to demand that universities affirm and protect the constitutional rights of all students.
For students, please see the resources below around protesting tips and other safety information, including the Higher Ed Immigration Portal which provides information on immigrant student rights, legal help, deportation defense, and guidance on what institutions can do within and beyond the university to protect undocumented students.
Dispel inaccurate information.
It is important to be aware of far-right narratives that spew disinformation, malign immigrant students, and create wedges to prevent solidarity. These narratives can influence community opinions, and damage the reputations of individuals involved. It is important to seek out trusted and vetted news, and verify information before sharing it. Below is a list of vetted sources of information.
For additional information:
Media
“How a Columbia Student Fled to Canada after ICE came looking for her” (Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times, March 15, 2025).
“Palestinian woman arrested by Newark ICE agents held in North Texas” (Julia James, Dallas News, March 16, 2025).
“My Name is Mahmoud Khalil and I Am a Political Prisoner” (Mahmoud Khalil, March 18, 2025)
“GU Researcher Detained By Immigration Agents” (Evie Steele, Nora Toscano, Ajani Stella, and Maren Fagan, The Hoya, March 19, 2025).
“Statement on Badar Khan Suri” (Georgetown University Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, March 20, 2025).
Know Your Rights Resources for Immigrant Students
Higher Ed Immigration Resource Portal for Immigrant Students and Institutions
Muslim for Just Futures: Guidance on Protesting
National Immigration Law Center: Immigrants’ Rights while Protesting
CAIR and Asian Law Caucus Guide for Protesting and Community Safety
Activist or protester? How to keep you and your communications safe wherever your campaigning takes you from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Muslims for Just Futures: The Criminalization of Solidarity Guide
Muslims for Just Futures: Community Fact Sheet on Executive Orders: Antisemitism and Education
Litigation Resources
Khalil v. Trump:
Center for Constitutional Rights Case Page
Motion for Preliminary Injunction | Amended Complaint
Khalil v. Columbia University and House Education and Workforce Committee:
Momodou Taal, Sriram Parasurama, Mũkoma Wa Ngũgĩ v. Trump
Yunseo Chung v. Trump, et al.