'Atmosphere was dangerous': Rajini Srinivasan opens up about why she left US

Indian student Ranjani Srinivasan departed the United States for Canada following the cancellation of her student visa by the Donald Trump administration on suspicion of being a 'terrorist sympathiser'. In her first public statement since the 'self deportation', she indicated the motivation behind her departure. In an interview to the New York Times, the 37-year old explained that she took a spontaneous decision to depart from New York to travel to Canada as the environment was 'dangerous'. 

Why was Ranjani Srinivasan's student visa canceled?

"The environment was so charged and risky. So I just made a snap decision," she told the interview. Srinivasan was a PhD student at Columbia University, working on her doctorate in urban planning. She had previously earned her master's degree from Harvard on a Fullbright scholarship. Ranjani Srinivasan in"I'm worried that even the most mundane political rhetoric or simply doing what we all do  like yell into the void that is social media can become this dystopian hellhole where someone is labeling you a terrorist sympathizer and causing you, literally, to fear for your life and your safety," she continued in the interview.

She received an email from the US Consulate in Chennai

Federal officials appeared at her doorstep at the University campus over a week ago on a Friday morning in search of her. They came back on Saturday after she did not answer the door the first time. She flew out of LaGuardia Airport prior to the agents returning to look for her again last Thursday. Ranjani Srinivasan initially heard about her visa revocation on March 5, when she received an email from the US Consulate in Chennai. The email mentioned "information that has come to light," but no more. Baffled and uncertain, she contacted Columbia's international student office for advice.

University cancelled her admission because her lawful status

Srinivasan told that just a few weeks after her student visa was withdrawn, the university cancelled her admission because her lawful status had been ended. Matters grew worse following allegations by the Department of Homeland Security that Srinivasan was aiding Hamas, a charge for which evidence was not shown. 

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators had taken over Hamilton Hall 

Her attorneys in a reply to allegations disavowed the charges and labelled them an aspect of more sweeping crackdown against political speech. Srinivasan was arrested outside the varsity gate on a day when pro-Palestinian demonstrators had taken over Hamilton Hall, a campus building last year. She claimed she was not actively among the crowd but was merely attempting to go home after a picnic with friends when she was swept up in the crowd. The case was later dismissed.

Following Srinivasan's escape, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem posted surveillance footage of her departure, calling them a "terrorist sympathizer" and gloating about her escape as a "self-deportation."