Her name is Rumeysa Ozturk, a student from Turkey with a valid F-1 visa allowing her and other international students to pursue academic studies in the United States. On March 28, while waiting to meet her friends to break her fast for Ramadan, many watched as the PhD student at Tufts screamed in terror as she was arrested by federal agents.
Some ask how this could have happened. Surely, as a student in the U.S., she wouldn’t be able to study here without a visa. She could have walked among any of us, but her case is peculiar compared to many other foreign nationals affiliated with prestigious American universities that have been arrested.
Immigrants across the country are increasingly being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies, raising fear not just among immigrant communities but also among those around them. In addition, people like Ozturk and Columbia’s Mahmoud Khalil were under particular scrutiny and subsequently arrested for their support of Palestine and the protests, amplifying public concern and accusations of politically motivated targeting.
In Ozturk’s case she wrote an op-ed to Tufts’ newspaper in which she criticized the school’s response to divestment from companies with ties to Israel, and nothing more than that.
On the night of her arrest, Ozturk was shown to be detained by federal agents who weren’t wearing uniforms. As she waited alone, three men and women approached her. One officer’s face was briefly visible before he pulled his gaiter up over his nose.
Bystanders intervened and questioned the arrest. In a video, one can be heard shouting, “You want to take those masks off? […] How do I know this is the police?” 14.3% of Americans are immigrants, and as cases like these rise, it might leave many trying to walk on eggshells to make sure that they aren’t next.
Since the pandemic, masked law enforcement has been growing, especially when they are being confronted by the public recording them. Moreover, under the current administration, ICE has been borrowing agents and officers from other federal agencies, like the Drug Enforcement Administration, where concealing identity is already standard practice.
Ozturk is currently being held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana, although no charges have been filed against her. Additionally, according to a statement by the University’s president Sunil Kumar, her visa status has also been terminated. However, a federal judge has issued an order to stop Ozturk from being deported until the Boston court has the jurisdiction to decide if she was lawfully detained.
