The Trump administration has confirmed it has arrested foreign students who were accused of participating in pro-Hamas activities, the latest in a string of crackdowns on alleged extremists on university campuses.
Lumesiah Ozturk, a Turkish national who is now attending Tufts University, was arrested by the immigration agency just outside of Boston on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed with the Daily Color News Foundation. As many other foreign students arrested in front of her, Oztark was featured during her studies in the United States by a vocal anti-Israel activist and watchdogs tracking anti-Semitism. (Related: “One of the Top 3”: About an hour from Feds Nab MS-13 Kingpin)
“Rumesya Ozturk is a Turkish citizen and a graduate student at Tufts University and has recognized the privilege of being in this country on a visa,” DHS Deputy Chief of the Department of Finance Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement provided to the DCNF. “DHS and [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] The investigation found that Ozturk was engaged in activities to support Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that enjoys the murder of Americans. ”
“Visa is a privilege, not a right. Praise and support terrorists who kill Americans is the basis for the issuance of visas being fired,” continued McLaughlin. “This is common sense security.”
The painted sign stands on May 1, 2024 at the pro-Palestinian protest camp at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.
Tufts University, a private research university in the Boston metropolitan area, was one of many schools that were chased in 2024 by anti-Israel protests. Almost a month Before it finally dissipated on the school campus.
Oztzurku was one of the students involved in activism. an op-ed She co-authored in March 2024, where the cell sold cells from all companies that have “direct or indirect” relationships with Israel, comparing them to Israel and South Africa. Her surgery doesn’t mention the October 7 massacre by Hamas militants who killed about 1,200 people that caused the current war in the region.
The Canary Mission, a group that tracks suspected anti-Semitic stakeholders in the US, has since Included her In the database. Video footage I’ve taken it Several immigration officers stopped Ozturk and were detained on Tuesday, showing spectators.
in Official Statement Released Wednesday, Tufts University President Sunil Kumar said Oztak is currently being held in Louisiana. However, her name was not searching for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prisoner database on Thursday.
She was arrested, but Ozturk cannot be deported yet. According to Court documents. US District Judge Indira Talwani, President Barack Obama’s appointee of US Boston, ordered that the lawyers not move out of Massachusetts after filing a lawsuit alleging that they were illegally detained.
Under US law, foreigners do not need to be convicted or charged with a crime because they are removable from the country. The State Department has the authority to be deemed a non-citizen threat, seen as a potential threat to U.S. foreign policy, according to immigration experts.
Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born Algerian national who became the face of anti-Israel protests at Columbia University in 2024, was arrested by DHS agents in early March. Since then, the Trump administration has revoked his permanent status and is now trying to drive him out of the United States, but his legal team has been fighting his deportation.
Immigration authorities arrested Rekaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank in the beginning of March after the student visa expired, and were previously arrested on suspicion of participating in a pro-Hama demonstration at Columbia University. ICE agents recently arrested Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national who worked as a researcher at Georgetown University campus.
Law enforcement refused entry and deported Lebanese citizen Rasha Alawie. Customs and border protection discovered that he had returned from the funeral of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrara, and is said to have had many other extremists’ worship on his phone. Another foreign student protester, India National Ranjani Srinivasan, chose to voluntarily leave using Trump’s new self-abolition app after her visa was revoked on suspicion of Prohama activities.
DHS is also trying to detain Cornell student Momodou Taal, a Gambian national who repeatedly denigrated the US via online post, Columbia University student Yunseo Chung, and South Korean national who was previously arrested for anti-Israel activities in New York City. But both sued the Trump administration preemptively to drive out deportation.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation is an independent, nonpartisan newswire service that is free to use for legitimate news publishers that can provide large audiences. All republished articles must include logos, reporter signatures and DCNF affiliation. For questions regarding our guidelines or partnerships with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
