Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Local Syrian sources: The village of Al-Thala in the western countryside of Sweida was subjected to mortar shelling, with explosions heard in the area.
Occupied Palestine: Very violent Israeli raids target Tal al-Zaatar in Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip.
Occupied Palestine: 15 martyrs were recovered as a result of the ongoing Israeli raids on the city of Beit Lahia and the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in occupied Palestine: More than 300 martyrs and 500 wounded in three days of ongoing Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip.
Occupied Palestine: The occupation aims to ethnically cleanse the Sultan area near the Zikim settlement.
Occupied Palestine: The IOF is besieging a school housing displaced persons in the Al-Sultan area, north of the Gaza Strip.
Occupied Palestine: Dozens of martyrs and wounded, mostly children and women, in Israeli raids on the northern Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in occupied Palestine: The Israeli occupation is committing genocide in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip.
Occupied Palestine: The Indonesian hospital is filled with martyrs and wounded after the IOF bombed homes in northern Gaza.
Occupied Palestine: IOF aircraft targeted a tent on Al-Madrasa Street in the Al-Mashrou area, west of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip

Turkish student detained by ICE while heading to Ramadan meal

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 27 Mar 2025 14:53
4 Min Read

Though unconfirmed, reports suggest Ozturk’s pro-Palestinian activism may have played a role in her detention.

Listen
  • x
  • Hundreds of people gather in Somerville, Mass., on March 26, 2025, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, who was arrested by federal agents Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Michael Casey)
    Hundreds of people gather in Somerville, Mass., on March 26, 2025, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, who was arrested by federal agents Tuesday night. (AP)

A disturbing video shows the moment Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, was apprehended by federal agents near her off-campus residence in Massachusetts on Tuesday evening. The incident occurred as she was reportedly en route to an Iftar meal to break her Ramadan fast.

In the footage, six masked individuals wearing gold badges surround Ozturk, who is visibly distraught and heard screaming as two men approach her. "We're the police," one declares, while a bystander shouts, "Why are you hiding your faces?" The agents handcuff her, seize her backpack, and escort her to a black SUV.

🚨URGENT: MPAC demands the immediate release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts student and F-1 visa holder abducted by DHS agents with no charges—on her way to an Iftar.

This is a chilling violation of civil liberties during Ramadan.

📢 Speak out. Call your Reps. #freerumeysa pic.twitter.com/qqLKJOhCVL

— MPAC (@mpac_national) March 26, 2025

Attorney Mahsa Khanbabai confirmed Ozturk was detained by Homeland Security agents, though "no charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of." Tufts University stated it had no prior knowledge of the arrest, with President Sunil Kumar clarifying in an email: "The university ... did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event."

While Khanbabai maintains Ozturk held a valid student visa, Tufts officials said they were informed her visa had been "terminated". Kumar noted the school is "seeking to confirm whether that information is true." US District Judge Indira Talwani ordered the government to justify Ozturk’s detention by Friday and barred her transfer outside Massachusetts without 48 hours' advance notice.

The incident has raised concerns over potential targeting due to Ozturk’s pro-Palestine activism, though authorities have not disclosed the reason for her detention.

Trump's escalating crackdown on pro-Palestine activism

The detention of Turkish doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk by ICE agents as she headed to a Ramadan iftar meal marks the latest in a series of aggressive US actions against pro-Palestine voices. This incident chillingly mirrors the 2023 arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student activist detained under questionable circumstances.

Related News

Israeli, Syrian officials met secretly in Baku: Report

UN rejects US-backed Gaza aid plan over neutrality concerns

Under the Trump administration's expanding "counterterrorism" policies, federal agencies have increasingly targeted Muslim and pro-Palestine students, citing alleged "national security concerns." Khalil's case—where he was held for weeks without formal charges—set a dangerous precedent now being replicated with Ozturk's detention.

Pro-'Israel' group in US says reported ‘thousands’ on deportation list 

A far-right group that took credit for the arrest of a Palestinian activist and permanent US resident—whom the Trump administration is seeking to deport—claims to have submitted "thousands of names" for similar action, The Guardian reported on March 14.

Betar US is among several right-wing, pro-"Israel" organizations backing and instigating the Trump administration’s crackdown on international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses. This campaign escalated further with the recent arrest of Mahmoud Khalil.

At the time, Trump described Khalil’s arrest as "the first of many to come," while Betar US swiftly took credit on social media, stating it had provided Khalil’s name to authorities.

Betar declared that it had "been working on deportations and will continue to do so," threatening that the effort would extend beyond immigrants.

“Expect naturalized citizens to start being picked up within the month,” the group posted on X.

The group has compiled a so-called "deportation list" identifying individuals it claims are in the US on visas and have participated in pro-Palestine demonstrations.

Betar spokesperson Daniel Levy told The Guardian that the group had submitted "thousands of names" of students and faculty—allegedly on visas—from institutions including Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, UCLA, and Syracuse University to Trump administration officials.

The group claims to possess "documentation, including tapes, social media and more" to support its actions. It says it has shared names with high-ranking officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller, and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

As "Israel's" war on Gaza continues, the US appears to be criminalizing solidarity—with Ozturk potentially becoming the next Khalil in a dangerous pattern of suppressing dissent.

Read more: ICE secretly moved Mahmoud Khalil in retaliation: The Intercept

  • United States
  • pro-Palestinian activists
  • crackdown on dissent
  • Mahmoud Khalil
  • Gaza genocide
  • Israeli occupation
  • ICE
  • Donald Trump

Most Read

A boy draped in a Palestinian flag carries a mock rocket during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, May 9, 2025 (AP)

Yemen announces hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion Airport

  • Politics
  • 9 May 2025
Palestinians pray over bodies of people killed in the Israeli bombardment who were brought from the Shifa hospital before burying them in a mass grave in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. (AP )

Gaza casualty figures mask a much bigger horror, new study shows

  • Politics
  • 11 May 2025
President Donald Trump, left, greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington (AP)

US pressures 'Israel' for Gaza deal; Witkoff's Israeli rebuke leaked

  • US & Canada
  • 9 May 2025
Two F-35 jets arrive at it's new operational base Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, at Hill Air Force Base, in northern Utah. (AP)

F-35 near-misses over Yemen signal new risks for 'Israel': Forbes

  • Politics
  • 14 May 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, listens during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on May 7, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli, Syrian officials met secretly in Baku: Report

Israeli settlers lay on the ground as sirens sound amid the detection of a Yemeni missile, May 15, 2025 (Social media)
Politics

Yemeni missile halts Ben Gurion airport activity: Israeli media

500,000 Syrian refugees return since regime change
Politics

500,000 Syrian refugees return since regime change

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, speaks with his Emirati counterpart Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan during their meeting, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Monday, May 12, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran’s Araghchi: West chose talks after failing militarily

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS