Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student enrolled in a Tufts University graduate program, was suddenly taken into custody by federal agents on Tuesday in an incident captured by surveillance cameras, echoing the arrest of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil and others targeted for deportation by the Trump administration.
Rumeysa Ozturk was detained by federal agents earlier this week. (Photo by Erin Clark/The Boston ... More
Surveillance footage appears to show several plainclothes officers approaching Ozturk as she walked on a sidewalk to meet friends, in an area Tufts University said was not part of campus property, before being driven away.
The Department of Homeland Security told Forbes Ozturk was arrested because she “engaged in activities in support of Hamas,” though the agency did not name specific activities, stating this is “grounds for visa issuance to be terminated.”
Ozturk was one of four students listed as a co-author of an op-ed in the student-run Tufts Daily newspaper published last year urging the university to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and “divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel,” though it’s unclear whether this is related to her arrest.
Ozturk’s lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, told multiple media outlets she is unaware of any charges against Ozturk and she is currently unaware of Ozturk’s whereabouts (Forbes has reached out to Khanbabai for comment).
Tufts University President Sunil Kumar said in a statement shared with Forbes the university was told Ozturk’s student visa was revoked, and it is attempting to confirm whether that is true.
Following her arrest, Ozturk was reportedly transferred to an ICE facility in Louisiana. Ozturk’s attorney had filed a petition in court urging her not to be moved out of Massachusetts and challenging the legality of her detention, CNN reported, though Ozturk had already been taken to Louisiana. Massachusetts District Judge Indira Talwani wrote in an order Tuesday that Ozturk “shall not be moved outside the District of Massachusetts without first providing advance notice of the intended move.” Khanbabai compared Ozturk’s arrest to other recent detainments of college students, including Mahmoud Khalil, telling CNN: “Like all the other immigration cases related to international students and activists who have spoken up about the atrocities in Palestine, the government throws around wild accusations but provides no evidence,” adding she hopes Ozturk will be “released immediately.”
The school told Forbes it was unaware of her arrest prior to her detainment, stating it “did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event.” Kumar called the video of Ozturk’s arrest “disturbing” and said he hopes “Rumeysa is provided the opportunity to avail herself of her due process rights.”
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said it is “alarming that the federal government chose to ambush and detain” Ozturk, accusing it of “targeting a law-abiding individual because of her political views.” The Turkish embassy said in a post on X it has contacted the State Department and ICE, adding “every effort is being made to provide the necessary consular services and legal support to protect the rights of our citizens,” according to a translation by CNN. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Ozturk’s detainment is the “latest in an alarming pattern to stifle civil liberties,” accusing the Trump administration of targeting students without due process.
Ozturk’s arrest comes weeks after Khalil, a Columbia University student who was born in Syria to Palestinian parents and is a permanent U.S. citizen, was arrested by federal agents at his university residence. Khalil was a prominent pro-Palestinian protester at Columbia, and following his arrest, multiple elected officials—including President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio—accused Khalil of being a Hamas supporter. “We will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported,” Rubio said in a post on X following Khalil’s arrest. Khalil’s lawyers slammed his arrest as a “blatant effort to target and chill [free] speech” and accused the government of violating the First Amendment. Khalil was also moved to a detention center in Louisiana, and his case will proceed in federal court in New Jersey.
Mahmoud Khalil Still Detained In Louisiana—At Least For Now—Following Court Hearing: What We Know (Forbes)