1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

The arrest and detention of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, raises serious concerns about due process and free speech rights. As a student, she co-authored an opinion piece in the campus newspaper critiquing the university's response to calls for divestment from companies tied to Israel. This appears to be the extent of her activism on Palestinian issues. Her summary detention by masked federal agents, without any charges being filed or evidence presented of unlawful activities, seems to violate fundamental principles of due process. Furthermore, penalizing students for voicing political views, even unpopular ones, threatens free speech on campus. Universities should be encouraging open discourse and debate, not cracking down on speech some may find offensive. Ozturk's deportation to a remote detention center before she could challenge her detention in court is also highly concerning from a due process standpoint. I urge you to press the administration to uphold constitutional protections, present any evidence against Ozturk through proper legal channels, and safeguard the rights of immigrants to voice dissent. Stifling speech sets a deeply troubling precedent.