Tufts international grad student detained by ICE in latest action targeting pro-Palestinian activist
Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested on her way to an iftar meal Tuesday night.
Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts campus. (Courtesy Tufts University)
(JTA) — A Tufts doctoral student was detained by ICE in the Trump administration’s latest attempt to deport a pro-Palestinian protester, according to an emailed statement from her attorney.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish international student, was arrested Tuesday near her Somerville, Massachusetts home while walking with friends to an iftar meal, which breaks Muslims’ daily Ramadan fast, according to Mahsa Khanbabai, her attorney. Footage of the arrest shows a group of agents approach her on the street and handcuff her.
Ozturk maintained a valid student visa up until her arrest, Khanbabai said. The government has reportedly revoked the visa.
Ozturk’s arrest comes after a dossier on her was published by Canary Mission, an anonymous organization that has been criticized for doxxing pro-Palestinian student protestors.
Ozturk is a graduate of Columbia University Teachers College. One year ago, she co-authored an op-ed in The Tufts Daily that called on the university to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” among other demands.
Following her detainment, Khanbabai filed a court petition requesting that Ozturk not be transferred from Massachusetts, which was granted by District Court Judge Indira Talwani.
Khanbabai has not made contact with Ozturk since her arrest, and has not been updated on her location, according to an emailed statement.
“As of now, nearly 20 hours after her detention, the government has not told me where my client is located,” said Khanbabai in the statement. “This is incredibly concerning.”
The arrest of the doctoral student is the latest in a spree of student activist detainments by ICE, many of them connected to Columbia, which has been an epicenter of the pro-Palestinian protest movement. Federal agents have also detained Columbia University graduate and Palestinian protest leader Mahmoud Khalil, as well as undergraduate student Yunseo Chung.
Attempts to deport Chung were blocked Tuesday by a federal judge. Khalil’s case remains in trial.
The deportation efforts, which the Trump administration has framed as part of its fight against antisemitism, have attracted national attention and protest, and split Jewish groups. A rally will be held Wednesday evening in Somerville to support Ozturk, according to Khanbabai.
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