On March 26, 2024, Rümeysa Öztürk, a PhD student at Tufts University, co-authored an opinion editorial in The Tufts Daily. Almost exactly one year later, she was arrested near campus by plainclothes immigration officers, detained and sent nearly 1,500 miles away to a facility in Louisiana, where she is still being held. There are no charges filed against her.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has argued that Öztürk “engaged in activities in support of Hamas” without presenting evidence or justification. In these circumstances, the only speculation we can make is that her writing and expression of her opinion rendered her a target.
The Editorial Board is deeply disturbed by Öztürk’s detainment and views it as a fundamental attack on the First Amendment that, if left unchecked, will lead the U.S. toward the silencing of dissent. It is antithetical to the very principles of journalism for authors to be punished for an opinion that the government deems “dangerous” or incongruent with its own agenda. University newspapers, in particular, have long existed to serve students, who have historically been leaders in social movements, and, by targeting Öztürk, the Trump administration is attempting to scare students into silence.
Öztürk’s detainment is part of a deeply troubling trend of detainments and visa-revocation of noncitizens, especially targeting those who have been vocal in supporting Palestine. The past month has seen various noncitizen students and faculty across the country being targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — including Mahmoud Khalil at Columbia University and Badar Khan Suri at Georgetown University, with the common denominator being their connection (or perceived connection) to the pro-Palestine movement.
One does not have to agree with the Palestine encampments on campus, the pro-Palestine cause or the views of these individuals to disapprove of their detainment and recognize that there has been a complete abdication of due process and political targeting of certain views.
The arrest of Khalil and Khan Suri has been justified by a concerningly vague provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that permits noncitizens to be deported if the Secretary of State “has reasonable ground to believe [hosting them] would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” The use of this provision, which is phrased such that it can readily be weaponized against anyone the government disagrees with, is an alarming sign that the Trump administration is bypassing due process in pursuit of its own political agenda.
In addition to detainments, over 300 international students have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration, including nearly a dozen at our own University and at peer institutions, like Harvard University, Columbia University, Tufts University and the University of California system.
Despite the U.S. Department of State’s not specifying why each of the student visas have been revoked and Hopkins stating that they do not believe “free expression activities” are responsible, it is myopic to ignore that the visa revocations come at a time when noncitizen activists are being detained and targeted.
Attacking students and education is a key tactic in the authoritarian playbook. Universities have historically incubated activist movements and served to create knowledge that empowers the people and challenges authority. By targeting higher education, in particular, both by punishing student expression and threatening cuts to funding, the Trump administration is undoubtedly aiming to extinguish the culture of inquiry and debate.
These actions have been designed to have a chilling effect on speech and to create an ecosystem of fear that hinders others from speaking up. Make no mistake: The Trump administration may have started their campaign against noncitizen students involved in the Palestine movement, but they will not stop there. This is a concerted effort to suppress the speech of anyone — citizen or not — the president or government disagrees with and to scare us into silence.
The First Amendment is not selectively protective of only the speech that the government or the majority approves of. If this pattern of intentional disregard for the rule of law and targeting activism continues, none of us will be untouched and all dissent will become dangerous.
As students, journalists or anyone living in these times, we have a responsibility to call out and forcefully resist this escalation of government persecution and targeting.
The News-Letter was founded and continues to operate with the goal of featuring diverse opinions, promoting free expression and contributing to robust debate, and we will continue to defend these values. The safety of our writers and journalists, as well as the legitimacy of the paper, is our priority, and we continue undeterred in this pursuit.
