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.

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