Supporters of Rumeysa Ozturk said her detention was later Tuesday, a known immigration arrest, a Boston-area student engaged in such activism, carried out by President Donald Trump’s administration, which has been detained or attempted to detain several foreign students legally in the United States and participated in career protests.
Although the Trump administration believes that certain protests are anti-Semitic and may undermine U.S. foreign policy, the actions have been condemned as attacks on freedom of speech.
Video of the arrest shows a masked and plainclothes agent detaining the 30-year-old Turkish national near her home in Somerville, Massachusetts, when she was heading to meet with friends to quickly break her Ramadan, according to her attorney on Tuesday night.
In an article by the X authorities, U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesman Tricia McLaughlin said Ozturk “engages activities aimed at supporting Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that loves to kill Americans.”
“Visa is not a right,” McLaughlin said. She did not designate what specific activities Ozturk, a PhD in Child Studies and Human Development in Tufts, who have used the F-1 visa to conduct research in the country. A year after her arrest, Ozturk co-wrote an article in the school’s student essay, Tafts Daily, criticized Medford, Massachusetts-based Tufts, for calling for students to evacuate from companies linked to Israel and “recognize companies that recognize the Palestinian genocide.”
“Based on the patterns we’ve seen across the country, her right to exercise the right to freedom of speech seems to have played a role in her detention,” said Ozturk’s attorney Mahsa Khanbabai.
After Ozturk’s arrest, Khanbabai filed a lawsuit late Tuesday night, arguing that she was illegally detained, prompting U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani’s U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani’s U.S. District Judge in Boston that night ordered our immigration and customs enforcement to avoid moving Ozturk out of Massachusetts without at least 48 hours notice.
Khanbabai said Ozturk was still in Louisiana by Wednesday night, despite court orders. She called the claims against Ozturk “unfounded” and said people should “fear at the DHS running wild in the spacious sunlight”.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic Massachusetts, described his arrest as “the latest model to kill civil liberties.” Her arrest led to a large demonstration in Somerville, where protesters held signs of “resistance,” “defending the voices of students” and “releasing Rumeysa Ozturk now!”
She was arrested as part of the Trump administration’s targeting international students as it attempts to combat immigration, including strengthening immigration arrests and strictly limiting transit.
Other situations
Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio have particularly pledged to expel foreign pro-Palestinian protesters, accusing them of supporting Hamas militants, posing obstacles to U.S. foreign policy and opposing Jews.
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government has mistakenly combined their criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism and support for Hamas.
Tufts President Sunil Kumar said in a statement that the school had no advance understanding of the arrest and he realized that it would “pain some members of our community, especially members of the international community.”
The Turkish Embassy in Washington said in a statement that it relates to the U.S. State Department, ICE and other authorities regarding Ozturk’s detention. It said: “Every effort is made to provide the necessary consular services and legal support to protect the rights of our citizens.”
Ozturk was detained for less than three weeks after Columbia University graduate and legal permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil was similarly arrested. Without evidence, he challenged his detention after Trump, accusing him of supporting Hamas, whom Harrier denies.
Federal immigration officials also tried to detain a South Korea-born Columbia University student who is a legal resident of the United States and participated in a pro-Palestine protest, a move temporarily hindered by the court.
A Lebanese doctor and assistant professor at Brown University in Rhode Island was denied reentering the U.S. this month and was deported to Lebanon after the Trump administration claimed her phone contained photos of “sympathy” for Hezbollah. Dr. Rasha Alawieh said she did not support radical organizations but instead paid tribute to the leaders who were killed because of her religious beliefs.
The Trump administration also targets students at Cornell University in New York, Georgetown University in the University of Washington and the University of Alabama.
