Rumeysa Ozturk Is the Latest Student And Pro-Palestinian Supporter to Be Detained
Ozturk is one of many anti-genocide scholars being targeted by the Trump administration, and the third to be detained in Louisiana
Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images ImmigrationPolitics ICE
On Wednesday, the Associated Press published harrowing footage showing ICE agents arresting Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student and vocal critic of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, at Tufts University. In the video, Ozturk, who’s a Turkish citizen but holds a valid student visa, is ambushed by six people purporting to be officers near her home. Within seconds, Ozturk was abruptly stripped of her phone, handcuffed, and violently put in an unmarked vehicle by the individuals, whose faces are obscured by sunglasses, hoods and ski masks. The arrest, which took place the day before the video went viral, has not only sparked outrage but further crystallized the fact that the Trump administration is actively targeting immigrants who are dissenters of Israel’s war on Palestine on campuses across the country.
Ozturk is currently detained at the South Louisiana ICE processing center, according to the government’s ICE detainee locator page, and, per Reuters, her visa has been terminated. On Wednesday, Ozturk’s attorney’s filed a petition in federal court challenging the legality of her detention and demanding that she remain in Massachusetts. Chillingly, Ozturk had already been transported out of state.
While charges have not been filed against Ozturk, an investigation led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is a part of ICE, has since accused Ozturk of engaging “in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.” Notably, the DHS has yet to provide evidence that Ozturk was a supporter of Hamas.
“A visa is a privilege, not a right,” a DHS spokesperson told the AP. “Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is common sense security.”