Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was arrested by immigration officers for overstaying her student visa, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Between classes, when throngs of students stream into and out of Columbia University ’s campus, the security lines can back up like a TSA checkpoint. There’s a switch-back path of metal fencing that leads into a white tent, where two sets of guards check and then swipe campus ID cards before letting students in and out.