Greater than 30 Democratic lawmakers are demanding solutions from the Division of Homeland Safety and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the most recent high-profile arrest and detention of a foreign-born faculty pupil who had voiced assist for the pro-Palestinian motion.
In a Thursday letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE performing Director Todd Lyons, the 34 Democrats known as for them to clarify why Tufts College pupil Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested Tuesday by six masked, plainclothes brokers whereas strolling dwelling.
“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.”
Previous to her arrest, Ozturk, 30, was a Fulbright scholar with an F-1 pupil visa. She was a Ph.D. pupil at Tufts in Massachusetts.
Final 12 months, she was one in every of 4 authors of an op-ed within the Tufts pupil paper calling for the college to “engage with and actualize” resolutions associated to the Palestinian trigger handed by the college’s Pupil Senate.
Of 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 reveals officers strategy Ozturk in plain black clothes, with no seen badges, and she or he might be heard screaming as an officer grabs her palms. Ultimately, one officer pulls out his badge as others seem and canopy their faces. They then load Ozturk into an unmarked automobile earlier than driving off.
For twenty-four hours, Ozturk’s location was unknown, together with to her legal professional. On Wednesday, her illustration was knowledgeable that she was being held in Louisiana.
The placement reveal got here greater than 12 hours after U.S. District Decide Indira Talwani ordered that the federal government not take away Ozturk from Massachusetts for no less than 48 hours after first offering the court docket with discover of its intent to relocate her.
It’s unclear precisely when Ozturk was faraway from Massachusetts and whether or not the removing violated the court docket order, however her pupil visa has been revoked.
She seems to be the most recent in a string of worldwide college students focused beneath President Trump by way of an obscure regulation that permits the secretary of State to deport these deemed to pose a hazard to U.S. overseas coverage.
“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 collection of questions, the lawmakers are additionally demanding a proof about which company performed Ozturk’s arrest and why the brokers stored their faces coated with no badges displayed as they approached her. They’re additionally calling for the departments to clarify the authorized foundation of the arrest, detainment and revoking of Ozturk’s visa.
Extra broadly, the Democrats are in search of solutions round whether or not the Division of Homeland Safety or any company is compiling a file of college college students concerned in Palestinian-related protests.
The lawmakers have given the heads of the businesses till April 4 to offer solutions.
Rubio has defended Ozturk’s detainment in public feedback 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 stated.
“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.”
