DOJ Launches Investigation into Columbia University for Possible Terrorism Violations

March 15, 2025 TruthUSA

There is an independent investigation by Homeland Security to determine if the university is providing protection to illegal immigrants.

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into recent activities at Columbia University for possible terrorism-related offenses in connection with campus protests regarding the Israel–Hamas conflict.

On Friday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed that the inquiry is focused on whether Columbia has breached civil rights and anti-terrorism laws in its response to the protests that escalated following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the following Israeli military actions in Gaza.

The protests peaked last spring when anti-Israel demonstrators created a campsite in a prominent quad and subsequently occupied a university building. The university’s president resigned after facing months of severe criticism and claims that she failed to tackle pervasive anti-Semitism on campus.

In remarks delivered to the DOJ, Blanche stated that the investigation aligns with President Donald Trump’s “mission to eradicate anti-Semitism in this country,” calling it an action that is “long overdue.”

“Let me make it clear: Hamas is a terrorist organization. It has American blood on its hands,” Blanche emphasized. “Any individual providing material support to terrorism will face prosecution. This encompasses anyone who threatens acts of violence in support of Hamas within the U.S. or contributes financially to Hamas in the U.S.”

Blanche further indicated that a separate inquiry by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is examining whether Columbia is harboring undocumented foreign nationals.

“Just last night, we collaborated with the Department of Homeland Security to execute search warrants in an investigation into Columbia University for allegedly harboring and concealing undocumented individuals on its campus,” Blanche reported. “This investigation is ongoing, and we are also examining whether Columbia’s response to earlier incidents breached civil rights laws and included terrorism offenses.”

Columbia University confirmed the execution of the search warrants. In a campus-wide message on Thursday, Interim President Katrina Armstrong noted that DHS officials executed two judicial search warrants, authorized by a federal magistrate judge, to search two student residences owned by the university. No arrests were made, and no items were seized.

Deportations and Arrests

By Friday afternoon, DHS had reported updates concerning two individuals it sought in relation to the Columbia protests.

One of these individuals is Ranjani Srinivasan, a Columbia doctoral candidate from India. The DHS stated that Srinivasan has voluntarily departed the country after her student visa was revoked for allegedly “advocating for violence and terrorism.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem shared a video on social media platform X on Friday, seemingly showing Srinivasan pulling her suitcase at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

“It is a privilege to be granted a visa for living and studying in the United States,” Noem expressed in the news release. “When someone advocates for violence and terrorism, that privilege must be revoked, and they ought not to remain in this country. I am pleased to see one of Columbia University’s sympathizers to terrorism utilizing the CBP Home app to self-deport.”

The CBP Home app, an updated version of the CBP One app previously used to facilitate appointments for potential parolees in Mexico, now features a “self-deportation” option that enables users to declare their intent to leave the U.S.

Another individual involved in the protests, Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for allegedly overstaying her student visa. DHS announced that her visa was terminated in January 2022 due to non-attendance and that she was arrested last April for her involvement in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the Columbia campus.

Kordia is the second individual connected to the Columbia protests to be arrested by ICE this month. The first was Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian national of Palestinian descent who recently received his master’s degree from Columbia. He is currently detained at a Louisiana detention center.

Khalil’s legal representatives claim that his arrest and the subsequent deportation proceedings are retaliatory actions against him for his activism, violating his First Amendment entitlements. They highlighted his involvement in organizing group protests, distributing flyers, and leading negotiations for the so-called “Gaza solidarity encampments” at Columbia.

However, DHS has portrayed Khalil’s actions in a different light.

“Khalil has led activities associated with Hamas, a recognized terrorist group,” the department stated, asserting that his arrest is part of efforts to execute President Donald Trump’s executive directives designed to hold perpetrators of “ unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence” accountable.

Khalil has not yet been charged with any terrorism-related offenses. Instead, DHS invoked an immigration provision that permits the deportation of foreigners if the U.S. Secretary of State believes their activities or presence in the U.S. could have “potentially serious adverse foreign-policy consequences.”

In a response to a news report about Khalil’s detention, Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X: “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America, paving the path for their deportation.”

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