When I was in graduate school in Iowa, I was fortunate to have friends from other countries in my graduate program with me (I have changed their names for the sake of anonymity). Birgit was from Sweden: tall and blonde and very smart. Another was my friend Hanna from South America. Short and slim, with a dark complexion, Hanna was bilingual with a sharp sense of humor. I learned a great deal from them since they brought their own experiences from other countries into the program. What is clear to me now is that Birgit was never at risk of being detained or deported; she looked exactly like many of the Midwestern undergraduates and graduate students at the university we attended. But Hanna? If she were in graduate school today, she would probably never feel safe enough in the United States - she matches the "profile" of people being targeted by ICE. Despite her academic achievements and eventually earning a graduate degree, I suspect she would now be afraid of being deported back to her home country without any reason given. Because of all this I am writing to you about Rumeysa Ozturk. She was detained by ICE, despite being in graduate school at Tufts University. American universities have always been open to scholars from other countries, who benefit from studying here and who then often go back to their countries of origin, grateful for the educational opportunities they had here in the U.S. But getting kidnapped by ICE officers who do not identify themselves, without any warrant, and who do not respect their legal rights as PEOPLE - this is unconscionable. All of this smacks of secret police and hidden courts - which are completely unAmerican and against our constitution. Whether it is Mahmoud Khalil or Rumeysa Ozturk or Frengel Reyes Mota or ANYONE ELSE, the actions taken by ICE at the behest of the Trump regime are illegal, unconstitutional, and bound to undermine the safety of ALL Americans, not just people from foreign countries studying or working here. Using the excuse of "but we are deporting dangerous criminals" isn't enough. The United States looks weak and vindictive by not respecting our own law and Constitution. Worse yet, completely innocent people like Rumeysa Ozturk get caught up in the secret police dragnet of ICE.
I demand that you do the following: (1) work to free Rumeysa Ozturk immediately and return her to her graduate program and residency in the United States, (2) stop ICE's secret police efforts to illegally detain people, (3) reform immigration and visa programs to prevent abuses by ICE like this in the future. Doing anything less puts the United States one step closer to fascism. If ICE can come for Rumeysa Ozturk, then everyone in this country is at risk. Nobody is safe. Do the right thing and make sure this stops RIGHT NOW.
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