Ranjani Srinivasan didn’t think the knock would come so soon.
A Fulbright scholar. A doctoral candidate. She spent her days studying how cities displace the poor — and nights convincing herself it wouldn’t happen to her.
Then came March 5, 2025.
An email. Cold. Clinical. The U.S. Consulate in Chennai revoked her visa from halfway across the planet, citing alleged “support for Hamas.” No evidence. No hearing. No appeal. Her real offense?
She shared a protest flyer on Instagram.
ICE showed up soon after. Agents visited her New York apartment multiple times — initially without a warrant. On a later visit, they returned with a judicial one. No charges. No formal deportation order. Just pressure.
So she did what people with no choices do.
She left.
On March 11, Ranjani boarded a one-way flight to Montreal. DHS later claimed she “self-deported” using the CBP One app — but her attorney disputes that, saying she simply complied with the law after her visa was revoked.
Her friends smuggled her laptop across the border days later. Her cat, Cricket, she left behind — safe with a friend, but missed in every moment.
Now she’s in Canada. Stateless. Stunned.
Her belongings? Confiscated or inaccessible.
Her research? Interrupted.
Her future? Dangling by the thread of a refugee claim.
She’s no radical. No operative. She liked and reposted human rights content. That’s it. And for that, the country that once welcomed her turned cold and suspicious — as if brilliance were a threat and dissent a crime.
This wasn’t deportation.
It was coerced exile.
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