US immigration authorities have announced the arrest of a second activist who participated in pro-Palestinian protests last spring at Columbia University in New York City.
Leqaa Kordia, who is a Palestinian and from the West Bank, was arrested in New Jersey, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on Friday.
The statement said another student, Ranjani Srinivasani, who has Indian citizenship, chose to “self-deport” by leaving the US earlier this week.
This follows the arrest of Columbia campus activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained on Saturday in New York before being flown to a jail in Louisiana.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged that pro-Palestinian activists, including Mr Khalil, support Hamas, a group designated a terrorist organisation by the US.
The president argues these protesters should be deported.
Mr Khalil, 30, is a Syrian-born Columbia graduate and US green card holder.
His case has raised questions about free speech on college campuses and the legal process that would allow for the deportation of a US permanent resident.
His lawyers say he was exercising free speech rights to demonstrate in support of Palestinians in Gaza and against US support for Israel.
Mr Khalil’s lawyers deny that he supports Hamas.
Additionally, on Thursday night DHS agents executed two search warrants in rooms on the Columbia campus.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche of the US justice department said the agents were searching for evidence that the university was “harboring and concealing illegal aliens on its campus”.
“That investigation is ongoing, and we are also looking at whether Columbia’s handling of earlier incidents violated civil rights laws and included terrorism crimes,” he said.
Columbia Interim President Katrina Armstrong said in a letter to the campus that she was “heartbroken” to inform them of the federal raid.
“No one was arrested or detained. No items were removed, and no further action was taken,” she said.
The Trump administration has also pulled $400m (£310m) of federal funding from Columbia University, saying it failed to fight antisemitism on campus.
