Masked Officers Detain Tufts PhD Student, Sparking Outrage and Protests
Tufts student from Turkey detained by masked officers, video shows
A shocking video showing the arrest of Rumeysa Ozturk — a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University—by masked, plainclothes immigration officers has ignited outrage across the academic and immigrant communities.
Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar on a legal F-1 visa, was grabbed on March 25 while walking to an interfaith center to break her Ramadan fast.
The officers, reportedly from the Department of Homeland Security, did not identify themselves, and within a minute, she was in handcuffs and gone.
“We should all be horrified at the way DHS spirited away Rumeysa in broad daylight,” said her attorney Mahsa Khanbabai.
Thousands rallied in Somerville the next day, demanding her release and accountability for the federal agents involved.
The Department of Homeland Security claims Ozturk engaged in activities supporting Hamas, which they say justifies her visa termination—though no evidence has been provided.
Her arrest appears to be part of a sweeping Trump administration crackdown on international students allegedly involved in pro-Palestinian activism.
“Trump sent masked law enforcement officers to arrest Rumeysa Ozturk — a Tufts University grad student with legal status—without a criminal charge,” Sen. Edward J. Markey posted. “Disappearances like these are part of Trump’s all-out assault on our basic freedoms.”
Legal experts, including UC Irvine law professor Annie Lai, criticized the unmarked agents' tactics as “deeply alarming.”
Ozturk is the seventh student or scholar detained this month as protests against U.S. policy in Gaza continue. Muslim advocacy groups condemned what they call a targeted abduction, while Tufts University said it had no involvement and is offering support to its students.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Embassy is pressing U.S. officials to ensure Ozturk’s rights are protected. A federal judge has ordered she not be moved from Massachusetts without notice—but by Wednesday night, she had already been transferred to Louisiana.
Source: WaPo (gift article)
If this doesn’t chill you to the bone, nothing will. Check your pulse. Seriously, you’re either dead or don’t possess a heart.