The Gatepost Editorial: Rümeysa Öztürk doesn’t deserve detainment

By The Gatepost Editorial Board On March 26, 30-year-old Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk was detained by the Department of Homeland Security, swarmed by ICE agents in plainclothes and unmarked vehicles.

Video footage showed Öztürk approached by six individuals with their faces covered who handcuffed her and detained her close to her residence in Somerville.

According to an article by AP News, a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security said Öztürk was detained as the result of an internal investigation that found she “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.” 

The only discovered action taken by Öztürk cited as “anti-Israel activism” was a March 2024 op/ed in The Tufts Daily, co-written with three other students.

The op/ed itself does not reference Hamas, or assert Palestine should win the war in Gaza. Rather, it criticizes Tufts’ response to student protests, and makes the demand that the university acknowledge the genocide of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. 

The fact that Öztürk was detained - and subsequently shipped to an ICE processing center in Louisiana despite a federal judge’s order - all apparently because of a single op/ed - is sickening. 

The action taken against Öztürk, a law-abiding student on a visa in the United States, for exercising the right to free speech and peaceful protest, is appalling. 

The Gatepost Editorial Board hopes a legal challenge will eventually vindicate and free Öztürk and hold the current administration responsible for this disregard for due process and violation of the First Amendment.

The Student Press Law Center, along with 13 other free speech and journalism organizations, released a letter condemning Öztürk’s arrest as a result of her co-authored op/ed piece.

The letter states, “Such a basis for her detention would represent a blatant disregard for the principles of free speech and free press within the First Amendment, and we call on Tufts University officials, Massachusetts lawmakers and federal authorities to take immediate action to secure her release.”

According to the letter, Öztürk’s article is not in violation of any Tufts University policies and she has been in “good standing” with the university. Öztürk’s attorney also said she is not aware of any criminal charges against her client.

The Gatepost Editorial Board believes Öztürk’s detainment is unconstitutional. A former Fulbright scholar in the United States on an educational visa should not have her legal status revoked over an opinion about what Tufts’ response should be to the Israel/Hamas conflict. 

It is shocking that her apprehension by ICE happened so close to FSU. 

Unfortunately, Öztürk’s detainment is not a one-off scenario. 

On Wednesday, NBC News reported that 10 international students from Colorado universities have had their student visas revoked by the Department of Homeland Security. 

Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student, was detained in New York on March 8 because he allegedly led activities “aligned to Hamas,” the NBC article stated. 

International students all around the country are being targeted and having their green cards and visas revoked by the Trump administration. 

The Gatepost Editorial Board believes these students have a right to live and learn in America, including at FSU. 

FSU has printed and distributed “Know Your Rights” cards for students, faculty, and staff. These cards contain a script of what to say if you are approached by an ICE officer. 

On our website, The Gatepost has published “Know Your Rights” cards in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian-Creole. We encourage our readers to print this information for personal use and to give to others. 

All students should have the right to live and learn on their campus and to exercise their First Amendment rights.