By James Pogue, NEW YORK – The arrest of Turkish PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after illegally surveilling her home then whisking her away while she was en route to an iftar dinner during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, needs to be questioned. According to press reports, the reason Ozturk was detained by ICE is due to the pro-Israeli group outing her online for being pro-Palestinian. Since when in America, have we stealthily watched someone’s home then nabbed them on the street, wearing masks, no less, because of their support or non-support for a cause or a people. Make no mistake, this is a student who had a valid visa until ICE revoked it all because of what an online website said about Ozturk. If Ozturk can be arrested for her pro-Palestinian stance then why aren’t all the progressive Jews being arrested for their pro-Palestinian stances as well?
Where is the rule of law in such a detention?
In the U.S., we know from crime documentaries and TV shows that the bad guys get surveilled and detained not people who have a different opinion that the government prefers they not have. According to media reports, a campaign by Canary Mission, a pro-Israel website that blacklists pro-Palestine students and activists, played a role in Ozturk’s arrest. In 2024, Ozturk co-authored an op-ed in the Tufts University newspaper that urged the school to acknowledge what she explained was the Palestinian genocide and to divest from companies with ties to Israel. Ozturk was detained by ICE near her home in Somerville, Massachusetts her lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai and her university confirmed. As Khanbabai told the press, “Rumeysa Ozturk is a Turkish national who was maintaining valid F-1 status as a PhD student at Tufts University.” She added, “Rumeysa was heading to meet with friends when she was detained by DHS (Department of Homeland Security) agents. We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her.”
Ozturk’s detention and having her visa revoked is part of a wider crackdown from the Trump administration on pro-Palestinian students and academics. The recent detention of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil and Georgetown University researcher Badar Khan Suri are two other primary examples of First Amendment violations. If the Trump administration is going to allow white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys to roam the U.S. spewing disinformation and misinformation then why haven’t they been detained? The Trump administration accused Khalil and other pro-Palestinian students of participating in “activities aligned with Hamas” but neither any evidence or proof of that was ever provided. Simply swooping in to handcuff Ozturk even though she never resisted arrest and then hiding her where no one can reach her and not providing her location is an even graver violation of her First Amendment rights and her human rights.
What does America stand for now and what are we stooping to when such scenes become routine? This is straight out of an authoritarian playbook with scenarios like this happening in countries we know all too well but never in America until now. If the MAGA want to make America great again then why are they carrying out unlawful detentions with no charges and no warrants? Every American must be asking the Trump administration this question and not just once but repeatedly. Ozturk’s lawyer said that no charges were filed against her and that she filed a habeas petition requesting Ozturk not be moved out of the District of Massachusetts. Judge Indiar Talwani granted the petition late Tuesday while Tufts University sent an email to students saying the school did receive reports that an international graduate student was taken into custody by federal authorities, not giving the student’s name.
Meanwhile, a video of Ozturk’s detention that went viral, captured the moment – showing ICE agents handcuffing Ozturk while she was speaking to her mother in Turkish. In a statement the university explained: “The university had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event,” according to Tufts University President Sunil Kumar. Kumar added: “From what we have been told, subsequently, the student’s visa status has been terminated, and we seek to confirm whether that information is true.”
The university said it is assisting Ozturk with legal resources, “Following university protocol, the Office of University Counsel will assist in connecting the student to external legal resources should the individual request our assistance.” Ozturk remains listed in the ICE database as “in custody” and ICE has not responded to a request for comment. Let us ask the question again, how can Ozturk be detained and her visa revoked for freely expressing her opinion and doing so in the university newspaper without any previous repercussions. For every person in America who holds the same views as Rumeysa Ozturk (there are many) is ICE going to detain them and deport them too? Many of them are Americans and a number of them are Jewish, does that mean they are pro-Hamas because they are voicing sympathy for the Palestinian people?
Americans must take a hard look at this clear violation of First Amendment rights which entitles everyone in America to freedom of speech. Rumeysa Ozturk is neither an inciter nor a terrorist but her F-1 student visa was revoked. The clear and present danger is now a reality – anyone at any time could be ‘disappeared’ by ICE just because the Trump administration doesn’t like their opinion on Israel. Now, that’s something to think about when having the freedom to say what you want is akin to having the right to breathe but that right is suddenly taken away. America has come too far to return to McCarthyism, the people must speak up for Rumeysa Ozturk before it’s too late
