Federal agents took Rumeysa Ozturk, a PhD student at Tufts University, into custody on March 25, 2025. Rumeysa Ozturk is being detained without having been charged with a crime. She is in the United States with a valid F-1 visa which allows international students to pursue full time academic studies. She is being denied due process.
In March 2024, Rumeysa cowrote an op-ed in the school’s newspaper in which she criticized Tufts’ response to a student government group’s call for the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel because of the conflict in Gaza, among other demands.
The Trump administration is punishing Rumeysa Ozturk for her free speech on Palestine. She is being detained without appropriate access to her lawyer or access to her asthma medications. The First Amendment also protects the freedom of speech of people who are not American citizens. This detainment of Rumeysa Ozturk, Mahmoud Khalil, and others for free speech while denying due process is blatant fascism.
I want to know your stance on these violations of free speech and due process. If you do not support these violations of free speech and due process, then I want you to (1) denounce the Trump administration’s actions against Rumeysa Ozturk, (2) tell me how you plan to protect free speech and due process, and (3) act on your responsibility to uphold the Constitution. As your constituent, I expect a response.
