The Trump administration has launched a formal investigation into allegations that Columbia University may have hidden foreign nationals targeted for deportation following their participation in pro-Palestinian protests, marking a significant escalation in President Donald Trump's crackdown on campus activism related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The US Department of Justice has launched an investigation to determine whether Columbia University concealed "illegal aliens" on its campus, as announced Friday by a senior department official. As part of these efforts, federal agents conducted searches in university dormitories and implemented measures against foreign students and activists involved in the demonstrations.
Department of Homeland Security agents conducted searches with a warrant at two university dormitories on Thursday evening. Despite the operation, no arrests were made during the searches, and authorities have not clarified whom they were specifically targeting.
Later on Friday afternoon, American authorities reported developments concerning two individuals connected to the protests. A doctoral student from India studying at Columbia University, whose visa was revoked by the Trump administration, fled the US on a commercial flight. Additionally, a Palestinian woman who was detained during university protests in April last year was arrested by federal immigration authorities in Newark, New Jersey, for remaining in the US after her visa had expired.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche declared at the Justice Department that these actions are part of the President's mission to end antisemitism in the country.
