Federal agents have arrested another student involved in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed.

Leqaa Korda was taken into custody by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for allegedly overstaying her visa, which expired on January 26, 2022. DHS also stated that Korda had previously been arrested in 2024 in connection with the campus demonstrations. According to DHS, she is a Palestinian from the West Bank.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche linked Korda’s arrest to a broader federal investigation into Columbia University’s handling of undocumented individuals on campus.

“Just last night, we worked with the Department of Homeland Security to execute search warrants as part of an investigation into Columbia University for harboring and concealing illegal aliens on its campus,” Blanche said. “That investigation is ongoing, and we are also examining whether Columbia’s response to earlier incidents violated civil rights laws or involved terrorism-related crimes. This is long overdue.”

Korda’s arrest follows that of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist who helped organize campus protests and now faces deportation.

Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student, was abruptly transferred from New York to a detention facility in Louisiana last weekend, a process his lawyers described as akin to being kidnapped. They detailed how he was flown by unidentified federal agents, left to sleep in a bunker without a pillow or blanket, and subjected to what they claim was targeted political repression.

Top U.S. officials have celebrated Khalil’s detention as part of a wider crackdown on campus protests against Israel’s military actions in Gaza. His attorneys argue that he became a “public face” of the student demonstrations and is now being punished for his activism.

On Friday, Khalil’s legal team released cellphone footage captured by his eight-month-pregnant wife as ICE agents took him into custody.

“Mr. Khalil is not here on a student visa—he was previously, but he became a lawful permanent resident,” said his attorney, Amy Greer. “When I told the ICE agent that, he said the Secretary of State was revoking that too.”

Khalil’s attorneys also claim that agents never presented a warrant at the time of his arrest, further raising legal concerns about his detention.