Court says not to remove Ozturk from the state, but she is listed as being held in Louisiana
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued an order giving the government until Friday to answer why Ozturk was being detained. Talwani also ordered that Ozturk not be moved outside the District of Massachusetts without 48 hours advance notice.
But as of Wednesday evening, the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s online detainee locator system listed her as being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana.
A senior DHS spokesperson confirmed Ozturk’s detention and the termination of her visa.
“DHS and (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans. A visa is a privilege, not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is common sense security,” the spokesperson told the AP.
Ozturk cowrote article criticizing university response to Palestinian issues
Ozturk was one of four students last March who wrote an op-ed in The Tufts Daily criticizing the university’s response to its community union Senate passing resolutions that demanded Tufts “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide,” disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.
Friends said Ozturk was not otherwise closely involved in protests against Israel. But after the piece was published, her name, photo and work history were featured by Canary Mission, a website that says it documents people who “promote hatred of the U.S.A., Israel and Jews on North American college campuses.” The op-ed was the only cited example of “anti-Israel activism” by Ozturk.
Students and faculty elsewhere also have recently had visas revoked or been blocked from entering the U.S. because they attended demonstrations or publicly expressed support for Palestinians. President Donald Trump ’s administration has cited a seldom-invoked statute authorizing the secretary of state to revoke visas of noncitizens who could be considered a threat to foreign policy interests.
Supporters rally in Somerville
Hundreds of people demonstrated in a park later Wednesday, with speaker after speaker demanding her release and accusing both major political parties of failing to protect immigrants and stand up for Palestinians.
“Free Rumeysa Ozturk now,” the crowd chanted, along with traditional protest slogans such as “Free, free Palestine.” Many held Palestinian flags and homemade signs supporting her and opposing ICE.
Zoi Andalcio, a Somerville business owner, said he came out with his wife and 3-year-old son to speak against the “maddening” arrest of Ozturk and others.
“I’m outraged like everybody else about these disappearances, kidnappings of legal noncitizens, who may or may not have spoken out against the atrocious foreign policy of the United States government,” Andalcio said.
Roz Nazzaro, who held a sign that read “Hands Off,” said she fears the country is heading into an era of “Nazism” in which just disappear.
“There is no distinction between undocumented immigrants, documented immigrants, green cards,” said Nazzaro, a retired college administrator from Winchester, Massachusetts. “It’s going to be the citizens next, if you’re the wrong color, wear a hijab.”
‘She’s never spoken badly to anyone’
Before attending Tufts, Ozturk obtained a master’s from the Developmental Psychology program at Teachers College at Columbia University in New York, according to an alumni spotlight article in 2021.
Reyyan Bilge, a psychology professor at Northeastern University and friend, described Ozturk as a “soft spoken, kind and gentle soul,” deeply focused on research and not closely involved in the campus protests.
The two first met at Istanbul Sehir University, where Bilge supervised her thesis, before working on cognitive research and publishing papers together. They remained close after Ozturk arrived in the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship in 2018.
“Over the 10 years I’ve known her, she’s never spoken badly to anyone else, let alone being antisemitic or racist,” Bilge said.
Turkish diplomats contact State Department and ICE
The Turkish Embassy in Washington said it was keeping in regular contact with Ozturk’s family, monitoring the situation closely and engaged in “initiatives” with the State Department and ICE.
It added in a statement on the social platform X that it was making “every effort” to provide consular services and legal support to protect its citizens’ rights.
Offenhartz reported from New York, and McCormack from Concord, New Hampshire. Robert Badendieck in Istanbul contributed.
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