US authorities detain Turkish student at Tufts University, revoke visa
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Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk, a Fulbright Scholar and a student in Tufts’ doctoral programme, was taken into custody near her home in Somerville, Massachusetts.
PHOTO, SCREENSHOT: REUTERS, X/@CAIRNATIONAL
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BOSTON - US federal immigration authorities late on March 25 detained a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University near Boston who had voiced support for Palestinians during Israel’s war in Gaza and have revoked her visa.
Ms Rumeysa Ozturk’s supporters say her detention is the first known immigration arrest of a Boston-area student engaged in such activism to be carried out by President Donald Trump’s administration, which has detained or sought to detain several foreign-born students who are legally in the US and have been involved in pro-Palestinian protests.
The actions have been condemned as an assault on free speech, though the Trump administration argues that certain protests are anti-Semitic and can undermine US foreign policy.
The 30-year-old Turkish national was taken into custody near her home in Somerville, Massachusetts, on the evening of March 25 while she was heading to meet with friends to break her Ramadan fast, according to her lawyer, Ms Mahsa Khanbabai.
US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in a post on X said authorities determined Ms Ozturk “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organisation that relishes the killing of Americans.”
“A visa is a privilege not a right,” Ms McLaughlin said.
She did not specify what activities. But her arrest came a year after Ms Ozturk co-authored an opinion piece in the school’s student paper, the Tufts Daily, that criticised Tuft’s response to calls by students to divest from companies with ties to Israel and to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide.”
“Based on patterns we are seeing across the country, her exercising her free speech rights appear to have played a role in her detention,” Ms Khanbabai said.
Following Ms Ozturk’s arrest, Ms Khanbabai filed a lawsuit late on March 25 arguing she was unlawfully detained, prompting US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston that night to order US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to not move Ms Ozturk out of Massachusetts without at least 48 hours notice.
Despite the judge’s order, by the afternoon of March 26, Ms Khanbabai in a motion said she had been unable to locate her client in New England and had just been informed by a US senator’s office that Ms Ozturk was transferred to Louisiana. She sought a court order requiring ICE to permit access to Ms Ozturk.
The student’s detention was condemned by Democratic lawmakers, including US Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who said the “arrest is the latest in an alarming pattern to stifle civil liberties.”
A rally in her support was expected later on March 26 in Somerville.
The Trump administration has targeted international students as it seeks to crack down on immigration, including ramping up immigration arrests and sharply restricting border crossings.
Mr Trump and his Secretary of State Mr Marco Rubio, in particular have pledged to deport foreign pro-Palestinian protesters,
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the administration wrongly conflates their criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism and support for Hamas.
Ms Ozturk is a Fulbright Scholar and student in Tufts’ doctoral programme for child study and human development, according to her LinkedIn profile, and had previously studied at Columbia University in New York.
She has been in the country on an F-1 visa, which allows living in the United States while studying, according to the lawsuit.
Tufts President Sunil Kumar in a statement said the school had no advance knowledge of the arrest, which he recognised would be “distressing to some members of our community, particularly the members of our international community.”
She was taken into custody less than three weeks after Mr Mahmoud Khalil, a student protester at Columbia University and lawful permanent resident, was similarly arrested.
He is challenging his detention after Mr Trump, without evidence, accused him of supporting Hamas, which Mr Khalil denies.
Federal immigration officials are also seeking to detain
A Lebanese doctor and assistant professor at Brown University in Rhode Island in March was denied re-entry to the US and deported to Lebanon after Mr Trump's administration alleged her phone contained photos "sympathetic" to Hezbollah.
Dr Rasha Alawieh said she does not support the militant group but held regard for its slain leader because of her religion.
Mr Trump's administration has also targeted students at Cornell University in New York and Georgetown University in Washington. REUTERS
