Tufts graduate student who is pro-Palestinian detained by federal authorities in Massachusetts

BOSTON — A Tufts University grad student who has been vocal about her pro-Palestinian support has been detained by federal authorities in Somerville, according to reports.

Rumeysa Ozturk, a Ph.D. student and Fulbright Scholar from Turkey, was taken into custody Tuesday evening by Department of Homeland Security agents outside an off-campus apartment building in the sanctuary city.

A video from the Somerville scene shows the 30-year-old woman being approached by masked federal agents in hoodies after she left her home. The agents handcuff her, and take her away.

Ozturk — who is working toward a PhD in Child Study and Human Development — in the past has been public about her pro-Palestinian support, and in an op-ed criticized the university’s administration after the Tufts Senate passed resolutions about the “Palestinian genocide” and divesting from companies with ties to Israel.

The Department of Homeland Security alleged her “support of Hamas,” in a statement about her detention, but did not provide further information.

“Rumeysa Ozturk is a Turkish national and Tufts University graduate student, granted the privilege to be in this country on a visa,” a senior DHS spokesperson said in a statement.

“DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans,” the federal spokesperson added. “A visa is a privilege not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security.”

Tufts President Sunil Kumar in a message to the campus community said the university did not share any information with federal authorities before the detainment.

“From what we have been told subsequently, the student’s visa has been terminated, and we seek to confirm whether that information is true,” Kumar added.

After the feds detained her, Ozturk in Boston federal court filed a “petition for a writ of habeas corpus” against ICE and Homeland Security.

The federal district judge, Indira Talwani, has ruled that the feds cannot ship Ozturk out of the Bay State for at least 48 hours.

“Petitioner shall not be moved outside the District of Massachusetts without first providing advance notice of the intended move,” the judge wrote. “Such notice shall be filed in writing on the docket in this proceeding, and shall state the reason why the government believes that such a movement is necessary and should not be stayed pending further court proceedings. Once that notice has been docketed, the petitioner shall not be moved out of the District for a period of at least 48 hours from the time of that docketing.”

The Trump administration has been cracking down on pro-Palestinian students, warning that they will be deported.

“I am deeply concerned to see a student with legal status detained for what appears to be the exercise of free speech,” Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne said in a statement.

“Rumeysa Ozturk has a First Amendment right to free speech and a right to due process and that must be upheld, just as all immigration detainees have rights that must be respected without exception if we are to be a nation that follows the rule of law and values our constitutional freedoms and liberties,” the mayor added. “Our rights are being threatened in a variety of ways right now and Somerville will make use of the law and our voices to defend them. My administration recently filed a joint lawsuit with Chelsea against federal officials to do just that. We cannot sit by idly.”

Somerville currently has a joint federal lawsuit filed with Chelsea to protect the city’s constitutional right to not participate in federal civil immigration enforcement.

“This is sick and cruel. Right here in Massachusetts,” Congressman Jim McGovern posted about Ozturk being detained.

“A student here legally should not have their rights taken away for them for exercising their free speech,” the congressman added. “Donald Trump is policing speech, while I will always stand up for our rights and freedoms.”

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the student’s detainment the “latest in an alarming pattern to stifle civil liberties.”

“The Trump administration is targeting students with legal status and ripping people out of their communities without due process,” Warren said in a statement. “This is an attack on our Constitution and basic freedoms — and we will push back.”

Massachusetts AG Andrea Campbell called the footage of the student’s detainment “disturbing.”

“Based on what we now know, it is alarming that the federal administration chose to ambush and detain her, apparently targeting a law-abiding individual because of her political views,” Campbell said in a statement. “This isn’t public safety, it’s intimidation that will, and should, be closely scrutinized in court. My office is closely monitoring this matter as it develops.”

Ozturk has been the target of the group Canary Mission — which “documents individuals and organizations that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses and beyond,” according to its website. Canary Mission posted her photo and wrote up a bio for her on its website.

“We realize that tonight’s news will be distressing to some members of our community, particularly the members of our international community,” Tufts’ president wrote. “We will continue to provide information, support, and resources in the days ahead as more details become available to us.

“While we await further information, we want to remind the members of our community that the university has an established protocol for responding to government agents who arrive on campus (or off-campus), for an unannounced site visit,” the president added. “To activate that protocol, it is best to call the Tufts University Police Department at 617-627-3030 and inform the dispatcher, who will notify the appropriate university officials.”

The Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned the feds detaining Ozturk.

“We unequivocally condemn the abduction of a young Muslim hijab-wearing scholar by masked federal agents in broad daylight,” CAIR-MA Executive Director Tahirah Amatul-Wadud said in a statement.

“This alarming act of repression is a direct assault on free speech and academic freedom,” the executive director added. “Massachusetts residents must recognize the dangerous precedent being set — the federal government is resorting to draconian tactics to silence those who speak out against our nation’s complicity in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people. We demand Rumeysa Ozturk’s immediate and safe release and full transparency regarding her detention.”

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