'This Is Authoritarianism': Lawmakers Demand Release of Abducted Tufts Student

Most of Massachusetts' congressional delegation and dozens of other Democratic lawmakers on Friday called for the release of Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk and demanded answers from members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet about her "disturbing arrest and detention" by immigration officials.

Ozturk, a Turkish national, is a Fulbright Scholar pursuing a Ph.D. in child and human development. She was targeted for deportation after co-authoring a Tufts Daily op-ed critical of the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip—like various other anti-genocide students recently "abducted" by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

"The rationale for this arrest appears to be this student's expression of her political views," 34 lawmakers—led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, all Massachusetts Democrats—wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Nome, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and ICE acting Director Todd Lyons. "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."

The letter details how Ozturk was yanked off a street in Somerville, Massachusetts, on Tuesday: "Surveillance footage of the arrest shows officers approach her in plain black clothing, with no visible badges. She screams as an officer grabs her hands. During the arrest, one officer pulls out his badge as other officers appear and cover their faces with masks. The surveillance video shows officers loading Ozturk into an SUV and departing in three unmarked vehicles. Bystanders observed that the incident 'looked like a kidnapping.'"

"While the Department of Homeland Security has not publicly specified the alleged activities that led to Ozturk's arrest, this arrest appears to be one of the latest examples in a string of ICE arrests of university students with valid green cards and visas because of their political views," the letter notes. "Tufts University was informed that Ozturk's 'visa has been terminated'—similar to other recent cases in which ICE agents have declared, without any judicial or administrative hearing, that they were 'terminating' or 'revoking' students' green cards and visas."

"These are deeply troubling incidents," the lawmakers asserted. "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."

They also demanded responses by April 5 to a detailed list of questions about Trump administration policies, Ozturk's case, and "health-related complaints" at the ICE facility in Louisiana where she was transferred, "including for denying food that appropriately accommodates detainees' religious views, serving undrinkable water, and not complying with protocols on the spread of infectious diseases."

The letter is signed by six other Massachusetts Democrats—Reps. Jake Auchincloss, Katherine Clark, Stephen Lynch, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton, and Lori Trahan—as well as progressive leaders, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Reps. Greg Casar (D-Texas), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

"Absent from this list," noted Zeteo reporter Prem Thakker, are Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

Many of the letter's signatories have already individually spoken out about Ozturk's case this week.

"This is a horrifying violation of Rumeysa's constitutional rights to due process and free speech. She must be immediately released," Pressley said in a Wednesday statement, as reports emerged about her arrest. "And we won't stand by while the Trump administration continues to abduct students with legal status and attack our fundamental freedoms."

Markey shared the surveillance footage on social media Wednesday and wrote: "'Disappearances like these are part of Trump's all-out assault on our basic freedoms. This is authoritarianism, and we will not let this stand."

Warren also turned to social media on Wednesday, stressing that "this arrest is the latest in an alarming pattern to stifle civil liberties," and calling out the Trump administration for "ripping people out of their communities without due process."

"We will push back," Warren pledged.