Second Columbia Protester Arrested by Homeland Security: Visa Violations & Ties to Radical Anti-Israel Activism Spark Federal Action

Edited by: Fern Sidman

Federal authorities have apprehended a second individual linked to the wave of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University, further escalating a high-stakes crackdown on foreign nationals involved in radical activism on U.S. campuses. As reported by The New York Post on Friday, Homeland Security agents arrested Leqaa Kordia on Thursday — a Palestinian national from the so-called West Bank whose immigration record is now under intense scrutiny following repeated student visa violations and her participation in disruptive campus demonstrations.

Kordia’s arrest comes just days after a similar federal operation targeted Mahmoud Khalil, another high-profile Columbia protest leader, and signals what appears to be a broader strategy by the Trump administration to use immigration enforcement as a tool to curb ideological extremism in American institutions of higher learning. According to the information provided in The NYP report, federal sources confirmed that Kordia had been flagged for overstaying her twice-canceled student visa and was previously arrested in April 2024 for her involvement in anti-Israel demonstrations on Columbia’s campus.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under the leadership of Secretary Kristi Noem, has framed these arrests as not merely immigration enforcement actions, but as necessary steps to safeguard national security and uphold the integrity of the U.S. visa system. In a pointed statement shared with The NYP  on Friday, Noem underscored the administration’s hardline stance: “It’s a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America,” Noem stated. “When you advocate for violence and terrorism, that privilege should be revoked.”

Kordia’s immigration trail reveals a pattern of abuse and noncompliance that has now culminated in federal detention. The NYP reported that she first entered the United States in 2016 on a tourist visa and was granted a student visa in 2017. However, the Department of Homeland Security terminated her student status in 2021 due to chronic non-attendance. That same year, Kordia successfully applied for reinstatement — only to again fail to meet attendance requirements, leading to a second visa termination in 2022.

Despite these repeated violations, Kordia remained in the country and became involved in the increasingly militant anti-Israel protest movement at Columbia University. Her arrest marks a turning point in the administration’s approach, as immigration infractions are now being treated not merely as bureaucratic issues but as part of a broader effort to root out individuals viewed as sympathetic to extremist causes.

Columbia University has become a focal point in the national conversation about anti-Semitism and radical activism in higher education. The campus protests, often characterized by inflammatory rhetoric and confrontational tactics, have triggered widespread concern about the safety of Jewish students and the growing influence of ideologically extreme student groups, the NYP report indicated. Federal authorities appear to be responding by targeting protest leaders with immigration vulnerabilities — a tactic likely to have a chilling effect on foreign students engaged in politically charged movements.

The arrest of Leqaa Kordia, coming on the heels of Mahmoud Khalil’s detention, reinforces the Trump administration’s broader message: the United States will not serve as a sanctuary for those who, in the administration’s view, abuse the visa system while supporting ideologies hostile to American values and allies. As Secretary Noem’s remarks indicate, the administration is positioning visa revocation not just as an immigration tool, but as a moral and national security imperative.

The New York Post has not reported any additional charges beyond Kordia’s immigration violations, but DHS is expected to pursue her removal from the country based on her repeated noncompliance and participation in protests the administration views as radical and destabilizing.