BURSTMore than 30 Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the latest high-profile arrest and detention of a foreign-born college student who had voiced support for the pro-Palestinian movement.
In a Thursday letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE acting Director Todd Lyons, the 34 Democrats called for them to explain why Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested Tuesday by six masked, plainclothes agents while walking home.
“The rationale for this arrest appears to be this student’s expression of her political views,” the members wrote. “We are calling for full due process in this case and are seeking answers about this case and about ICE’s policy that has led to the identification and arrest of university students with valid legal status.”
Prior to her arrest, Ozturk, 30, was a Fulbright scholar with an F-1 student visa. She was a Ph.D. student at Tufts in Massachusetts.
Last year, she was one of four authors of an op-ed in the Tufts student paper calling for the university to “engage with and actualize” resolutions related to the Palestinian cause passed by the university’s Student Senate.
In their letter, lawmakers argued the arrest was “disturbing" and “looked like a kidnapping" in video that went viral this week.
Surveillance footage of the arrest shows officers approach Ozturk in plain black clothing, with no visible badges, and she can be heard screaming as an officer grabs her hands. Eventually, one officer pulls out his badge as others appear and cover their faces. They then load Ozturk into an unmarked vehicle before driving off.
For 24 hours, Ozturk’s location was unknown, including to her attorney. On Wednesday, her representation was informed that she was being held in Louisiana.
The location reveal came more than 12 hours after U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ordered that the government not remove Ozturk from Massachusetts for at least 48 hours after first providing the court with notice of its intent to relocate her.
It is unclear exactly when Ozturk was removed from Massachusetts and whether the removal violated the court order, but her student visa has been revoked.
She appears to be the latest in a string of international students targeted under President Trump via an obscure law that allows the secretary of State to deport those deemed to pose a danger to U.S. foreign policy.
“These are deeply troubling incidents,” the letter reads. “The Administration should not summarily detain and deport legal residents of this country merely for expressing their political views. Absent compelling evidence justifying her detention and the revocation of her status, we call for Ozturk's release and the restoration of her visa.”
In a series of questions, the lawmakers are also demanding an explanation about which agency conducted Ozturk’s arrest and why the agents kept their faces covered with no badges displayed as they approached her. They’re also calling for the departments to explain the legal basis of the arrest, detainment and revoking of Ozturk’s visa.
More broadly, the Democrats are seeking answers around whether the Department of Homeland Security or any agency is compiling a dossier of university students involved in Palestinian-related protests.
The lawmakers have given the heads of the agencies until April 4 to provide answers.
Rubio has defended Ozturk’s detainment in public comments this week.
“If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why you're coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we're not going to give you a visa,” Rubio said.
“I don't care what movement you're involved in,” he added. “We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses.”