US immigration authorities have detained and revoked the visa of a Turkish student – accusing her of supporting Hamas.
Footage showed masked and plain clothes agents taking 30-year-old Rumeysa Ozturk into custody near her home in Somerville, Massachusetts.
The doctoral student, at Tufts University near Boston, had voiced support for Palestinians in Israel’s war in Gaza.
US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X that DHS and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigations had determined the Turkish national had “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,” she said.
“Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated,” she added, giving no further details.
Mahsa Khanbabai, the student’s lawyer, said in a petition filed in a Boston federal court that Ozturk, who is Muslim, was meeting friends for iftar, a meal that breaks a fast at sunset during Ramadan, when she was detained on Tuesday night.
Ms Khanbabai said in a statement: “We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her.”
She added no charges had been filed against Ozturk “that we are aware of”.
Ozturk was one of four students who wrote an article in a student newspaper last March that criticised Tufts’ response to Israel’s war on Hamas and attacks in Gaza.
A DHS spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that Ozturk was being detained in Louisiana – despite a judge ordering her not to be moved out of the District of Massachusetts without 48 hours advance notice – and that her student visa had been terminated.
It comes after Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student at Columbia University who has held a US permanent residency green card since 2024, was arrested and threatened with deportation earlier this month.
Six of the agents involved were wearing face coverings. Pic: AP
‘It looked like a kidnapping’
Video of the arrest shows six people with their faces covered approach Ozturk at around 5.30pm on Tuesday, before taking her phone away.
The student is seen yelling as she is handcuffed, while one person is heard telling her: “We’re the police.”
A man is heard asking the six “why are you hiding your faces?” before the DHS agents lead her away.
Michael Mathis, a 32-year-old software engineer whose surveillance camera captured the arrest, told the Associated Press news agency “it looked like a kidnapping”.
He added: “They approach her and start grabbing her with their faces covered. They’re covering their faces. They’re in unmarked vehicles.”
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Hundreds gathered on Wednesday to protest against the student’s arrest. Pic: AP
Hundreds of people protested on Wednesday, demanding her release and accusing both Republicans and Democrats of failing to protect immigrants and stand up for Palestinians.
“If you’ve seen the video clip, it’s unfathomable,” Reyyan Bilge, a friend of Ozturk, said.
“She’s walking by herself as a young innocent woman, having nothing to do with any of the complaints… or claims [of antisemitism against students] that have been made.
“There’s no reason for any of this. Let alone being discriminatory in any way, or racist or antisemitic in any way, she is an utterly nice soul and a decent person.”
Friend reacts after student detained by ICE
Sunil Kumar, president of Tufts University, said in a statement that the university “had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event”.
As of Wednesday evening, the ICE’s online detainee locator system listed Ozturk as being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile.
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Ozturk’s article came after Tufts’ community union passed a resolution demanding the university “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide”, disclose its investments, and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.
Friends told the Associated Press news agency that Ozturk was not closely involved in pro-Palestinian protests, but that after the article was published, her name, photo and work history were featured by Canary Mission.
The website says it documents people who “promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses”.
After her arrest, the Turkish Embassy in Washington said it was keeping in regular contact with the student’s family, monitoring the situation closely and engaged in “initiatives” with the State Department and ICE.
