Turkish Student Detained in US, Visa Revoked Over Pro-Palestinian Views

U.S. immigration authorities have detained a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University and revoked her visa after alleging that she engaged in activities supporting Hamas. The arrest of 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk, a Fulbright Scholar studying Child Development, has drawn sharp criticism, with Massachusetts' attorney general calling the situation "alarming."

Ozturk was taken into custody near her home in Somerville, Massachusetts, on Tuesday evening by masked and plainclothes agents. According to her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, she was on her way to meet friends for a Ramadan fast-breaking meal when she was detained. A video of the arrest circulated widely, fueling protests in Somerville on Wednesday, where hundreds of demonstrators gathered in opposition to her detention.

A look at Trump administration's stance 

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), stated that authorities determined Ozturk had "engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans." However, no specific details regarding her alleged activities were provided.

"A visa is a privilege, not a right," McLaughlin said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Ozturk had been in the U.S. on an F-1 student visa. She co-authored an opinion piece in The Tufts Daily a year ago, criticizing the university’s handling of calls to divest from companies with ties to Israel and calling for recognition of what she described as the "Palestinian genocide."

Legal Concerns and Free Speech Debate

Her lawyer, Khanbabai, dismissed the accusations as "baseless" and suggested that Ozturk’s detention may be linked to her public support for Palestinians.

"Based on patterns we are seeing across the country, her exercising her free speech rights appears to have played a role in her detention," Khanbabai said. "People should be horrified at the way DHS spirited away Rumeysa in broad daylight."

It is worth adding that the difference between pro-Palestine protests and pro-Hamas protests is rather small. In the aftermath of October 7th, many pro-Palestine protestors celebrated the death of innocent people. 

Under President Donald Trump’s administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained or attempted to detain multiple foreign students legally residing in the U.S. who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests. Critics argue that such actions undermine free speech, while the administration contends that these protests promote antisemitism and threaten U.S. foreign policy.