US authorities arrest Turkish student, revoke Visa
3 Min Read
The whereabouts of the detained student remain unknown, however, the ICE website shows that she is currently under immigration authorities' custody.
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A passer-by wears a koufiyeh, left, while walking past a banner that calls for an end to violence in Gaza at a tent encampment on the campus of Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, Tuesday, April 30, 2024 (AP)
United States immigration authorities arrested a Turkish doctoral student enrolled in Tufts University and revoked her student Visa for partaking in pro-Palestine protests, according to her attorney and the University on Wednesday.
Supporters of Rumeysa Ozturk claim her detention marks the first known immigration arrest of a Boston-area student involved in activism under President Donald Trump’s administration, which has targeted multiple foreign-born students legally residing in the US for their participation in pro-Palestinian protests.
According to NBC News, Ozturk's Attorney said that they are "unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of."
US District Judge Indira Talwani issued an order blocking the Trump administration from moving the graduate student out of Massachusetts without advance notice, noting that a United States District Court does not generally have subject-matter jurisdiction to review orders of removal," but the court can "preserve the status quo."
Tufts University President Sunil Kumar stated that the school had received reports of federal authorities detaining an international graduate student at an off-campus apartment building, adding that Tufts "had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event," according to NBC News.
This comes as the Trump administration intensifies its efforts against foreign students who partook in pro-Palestine protests, revoking their visas and aiming to deport them from the United States.
Trump threatens pro-Palestine protesters
Similarly, a Columbia University student involved in pro-Palestinian protests is suing the Trump administration for attempting to deport her, with attorneys for 21-year-old Yunseo Chung, who has lived legally in the US since childhood, filing a lawsuit on Monday that condemns the government's actions as a shocking overreach and an unprecedented, unjustifiable assault on her rights.
Days after her arrest, the suit states, immigration officials attempted to detain and deport Chung, informing her lawyer that her permanent resident status was being revoked.
Earlier this month, immigration authorities arrested Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a leader in the Columbia protests, stating they were acting on a State Department order to revoke his green card. Khalil remains in custody in Louisiana. His arrest has sparked fear among international students at Columbia, who worry their visas could also be revoked.
Universities are also at risk, with the US Department of Education announcing on March 10 that it was investigating 60 colleges and universities, mainly those whose students established pro-Palestine encampments throughout the Israeli war on Gaza, over allegations of "antisemitic harassment and discrimination."
The move closely followed US President Donald Trump's threat the week before to withdraw federal funding from institutions accused of allowing "illegal protests" on campus.
On March 7, his administration stripped Columbia University of approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts, citing what it called the university’s "continued inaction" in addressing the alleged harassment of Jewish students.
The US House Committee on Education and the Workforce ordered Columbia University on February 24 to submit disciplinary records by the end of the month for students involved in anti-"Israel" protests between April and January 2024, criticizing the Ivy League institution's handling of the matter.
