A doctoral student from Turkey, Rumeysa Ozturk, was detained by masked immigration officers on March 25th while she was on her way to break her Ramadan fast with her friends. A security camera caught the interaction between Ozturk and the 5 masked officers and has been spread across social media. Many say that this arrest was unwarranted and unjust.
Rumeysa Ozturk is a 30-year-old PhD student enrolled at Tufts University on a valid Visa that allows international students to study in the United States. Ozturk was walking to meet friends when she was suddenly approached by a masked individual. As Ozturk tried to call the police, the masked man grabbed her hands as another man took away Ozturk’s phone. As more officers approached, they confiscated her bag and handcuffed the student. The officers then walked away with her and put Ozturk on a plane to Louisiana the next day. Justice Department lawyers say that there was no available space to detain her in New England.
According to CNN, Ozturk’s Visa status was terminated, but a federal judge in Boston issued an order to stop Ozturk from being deported. Rumeysa Ozturk was one of the authors of an op-ed for “The Tufts Daily” that called for Tufts University to divest from companies with to Israel and to acknowledge the genocide in Gaza. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson says that Ozturk was engaged in activities that supported Hamas, although they did not specify exactly what those activities were.
After the footage was spread across social media, many individuals argued that Rumeysa Ozturk was wrongly detained and that the process of her arrest was inequitable. Many rallies and protests were held in Boston for Ozturk as well to condemn the actions taken by the masked immigration officers. According to AP News, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter wrote that Ozturk “is not without recourse to challenge the revocation of her visa and her arrest and detention, but such challenge cannot be made before this court.” Ozturk’s lawyers have until late Wednesday afternoon to respond to the government’s argument. They argue that the detonation violates Ozturk’s constitutional rights and that she should be returned to Massachusetts and released from custody. Ozturk’s family is worried as they wait to hear more about her case.
