The U.S. government\u2019s escalating attacks on noncitizens\u2019 right to free speech should scare us all.
\n<\/p>\n
The U.S. government\u2019s escalating attacks on noncitizens\u2019 right to free speech should scare us all. The Trump administration has abducted international students and faculty and detained them thousands of miles away from their loved ones, and it is further threatening to revoke thousands of student visas -- all because these scholars have spoken about Israel and Palestine in ways they don\u2019t like. But criticizing U.S. foreign policy, or voicing any other opinion, is protected by the First Amendment\u2014no matter your immigration status.<\/p>\n
Last week, the ACLU of Vermont joined the legal team representing R\u00fcmeysa \u00d6zt\u00fcrk, a Fulbright scholar and Ph.D. student at Tufts University who was arrested and detained by ICE agents in Somerville, MA. We joined her team after a court in Massachusetts decided that the correct place for R\u00fcmeysa\u2019s habeas case to be heard was in Vermont \u2014 because she was physically in the state at the time her attorney filed the emergency paperwork seeking her release from custody.<\/p>\n
On Monday, April 14, we will ask the Vermont federal judge to affirm that the case should stay in Vermont and to order her immediate release from ICE detention, before she is further harmed by the government\u2019s unconstitutional actions.<\/p>\n
On March 25, R\u00fcmeysa was planning to go to an iftar dinner with friends. Instead, while walking near her apartment, she was approached and then grabbed by a hooded man. Other figures soon closed in\u2014several wearing face coverings and dark clothing. Finally, one officer flashed a badge; however, in recent court filings R\u00fcmeysa has attested that she did not know they were immigration officers and genuinely feared for her life. The plainclothes ICE agents arrested and detained her, then placed her in an unmarked vehicle. Footage of the encounter is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n That evening, she was brought to Methuen, MA; then, to Lebanon, NH; and, finally, to St. Albans, VT where she spent the night in a detention cell.<\/p>\n While ICE was driving R\u00fcmeysa all over New England, her lawyer was frantically filing an emergency habeas petition. That night, a Massachusetts court ordered the government not to remove her from Massachusetts without prior notice.<\/p>\n However, early the next morning, without notifying the court, her counsel, or the Department of Justice counsel, federal agents took her to Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport and transported her to Louisiana, where she has remained in detention ever since. While in transit, R\u00fcmeysa suffered an asthma attack, which her friends had been worried about as she did not have her medication. Since being detained, she has suffered at least three more medical episodes. <\/p>\n A child development researcher who is getting her Ph.D. at Tufts University, R\u00fcmeysa is known for her dedication to her work, to her community, and to her loved ones.<\/p>\n A former boss said in a letter to the court that as a TA she was \u201coutstanding\u2014kind, approachable, and deeply attentive to the psychological needs of her students as we navigated the challenges of the pandemic.\u201d He said that \"students in her section wrote glowing reviews, highlighting her empathy, dedication, and commitment to their well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n A good friend describes her to ProPublica<\/a> as a \u201cbookish cat lover\u201d who was \u201cserious about [her] studies and [her] faith.\u201d Her roommate<\/a> calls her \u201ca friend with a kind heart and uplifting spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n And, in her own words, she says: \u201cI\u2019m a Ph.D. student working with children and youth. We know that injustice in the world and systemic brutality towards people of color has long-lasting negative effects on children, youth, and other communities. My life is committed to choosing peaceful and inclusive ways to meet the needs of children. I believe the world is a more beautiful and peaceful place when we listen to each other and allow different perspectives to be in the room. Writing is one of the most peaceful ways of addressing systemic inequality. Efforts to target me because of my op-ed in the Tufts Daily calling for the equal dignity and humanity of all people will not deter me from my commitment to advocate for the rights of youth and children.\u201d<\/p>\n To be clear, R\u00fcmeysa has not been charged with any crime. According to all available evidence, the government is putting R\u00fcmeysa through this harrowing experience solely because of the op-ed that she co-wrote with four other students for the college newspaper last spring<\/a>. The op-ed criticized Tufts leadership\u2019s response to the Tufts Community Union Senate passing several resolutions concerning human rights violations in Gaza. Months after that op-ed had been written, and just weeks before she was detained, the website Canary Mission published a profile on R\u00fcmeysa, including her photograph, claiming she \u201cengaged in anti-Israel activism.\u201d Its sole support for the contention was a link and screenshots of her op-ed.<\/p>\n When asked about her case, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed revoking her visa, adding, \u201cwe gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses.\u201d<\/p>\n The government claims it brought R\u00fcmeysa to St. Albans, VT, because there were no overnight beds for women available in Massachusetts. Usually, ICE detains people in Vermont in a state correctional facility<\/a>; for women, that\u2019s typically Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CCRF). ICE officials also said in court documents<\/a> that out-of-state transfers are \u201croutinely conducted after arrest, due to operational necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n It is true that over half of all immigration detainees are held in Texas and Louisiana; March 2024 data<\/a> suggests 18,596 people were detained in those two states compared to just 204 in Massachusetts or 648 in New York. However, immigration attorneys<\/a> say the late-night hopscotch is an increasingly common ICE tactic to complicate jurisdiction and thwart legal attempts to stop them from being removed. Louisiana and Texas, they say, are also favored destinations because the courts often issue decisions limiting migrant rights.<\/p>\n And more generally, moving people away from their community isolates them from their attorneys, family, and friends, which the government hopes will drive some to give up their legal fight to stay in the United States.<\/p>\n R\u00fcmeysa is one of several students and scholars that the Trump administration has gone after for their protected speech. Her detainment follows those of Columbia University recent graduate student Mahmoud Khalil<\/a>, a permanent U.S. resident, and Georgetown University\u2019s Dr. Badar Khan Suri<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since her detention, the Trump administration has also begun revoking hundreds of student visas across the country \u2014 often with no explanation whatsoever. <\/p>\n Ultimately, the Trump administration cannot order ICE to silence anyone with political opinions they disagree with\u2014which is exactly what we will be arguing in court on Monday. We are urging the judge to order that ICE immediately release R\u00fcmeysa so that she can be reunited with her community in Somerville, where she hopes to resume her studies as soon as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The U.S. government\u2019s escalating attacks on noncitizens\u2019 right to free speech should scare us all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":{"header_layout":"standard","header_image":3565,"mobile_header_image":2253,"description":"The U.S. government\u2019s escalating attacks on noncitizens\u2019 right to free speech should scare us all.\r\n","authors":null,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"The U.S. government\u2019s escalating attacks on noncitizens\u2019 right to free speech should scare us all. The Trump administration has abducted international students and faculty and detained them thousands of miles away from their loved ones, and it is further threatening to revoke thousands of student visas -- all because these scholars have spoken about Israel and Palestine in ways they don\u2019t like. But criticizing U.S. foreign policy, or voicing any other opinion, is protected by the First Amendment\u2014no matter your immigration status.\r\n\r\nLast week, the ACLU of Vermont joined the legal team representing R\u00fcmeysa \u00d6zt\u00fcrk, a Fulbright scholar and Ph.D. student at Tufts University who was arrested and detained by ICE agents in Somerville, MA. We joined her team after a court in Massachusetts decided that the correct place for R\u00fcmeysa\u2019s habeas case to be heard was in Vermont \u2014 because she was physically in the state at the time her attorney filed the emergency paperwork seeking her release from custody.\r\n\r\nOn Monday, April 14, we will ask the Vermont federal judge to affirm that the case should stay in Vermont and to order her immediate release from ICE detention, before she is further harmed by the government\u2019s unconstitutional actions."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"So, what happened?","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"On March 25, R\u00fcmeysa was planning to go to an iftar dinner with friends. Instead, while walking near her apartment, she was approached and then grabbed by a hooded man. Other figures soon closed in\u2014several wearing face coverings and dark clothing. Finally, one officer flashed a badge; however, in recent court filings R\u00fcmeysa has attested that she did not know they were immigration officers and genuinely feared for her life. The plainclothes ICE agents arrested and detained her, then placed her in an unmarked vehicle. Footage of the encounter is available here<\/a>.\r\n\r\nThat evening, she was brought to Methuen, MA; then, to Lebanon, NH; and, finally, to St. Albans, VT where she spent the night in a detention cell.\r\n\r\nWhile ICE was driving R\u00fcmeysa all over New England, her lawyer was frantically filing an emergency habeas petition. That night, a Massachusetts court ordered the government not to remove her from Massachusetts without prior notice.\r\n\r\nHowever, early the next morning, without notifying the court, her counsel, or the Department of Justice counsel, federal agents took her to Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport and transported her to Louisiana, where she has remained in detention ever since. While in transit, R\u00fcmeysa suffered an asthma attack, which her friends had been worried about as she did not have her medication. Since being detained, she has suffered at least three more medical episodes."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"Who is R\u00fcmeysa?","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"A child development researcher who is getting her Ph.D. at Tufts University, R\u00fcmeysa is known for her dedication to her work, to her community, and to her loved ones.\r\n\r\nA former boss said in a letter to the court that as a TA she was \u201coutstanding\u2014kind, approachable, and deeply attentive to the psychological needs of her students as we navigated the challenges of the pandemic.\u201d He said that \"students in her section wrote glowing reviews, highlighting her empathy, dedication, and commitment to their well-being.\u201d\r\n\r\nA good friend describes her to ProPublica<\/a> as a \u201cbookish cat lover\u201d who was \u201cserious about [her] studies and [her] faith.\u201d Her roommate<\/a> calls her \u201ca friend with a kind heart and uplifting spirit.\u201d\r\n\r\nAnd, in her own words, she says: \u201cI\u2019m a Ph.D. student working with children and youth. We know that injustice in the world and systemic brutality towards people of color has long-lasting negative effects on children, youth, and other communities. My life is committed to choosing peaceful and inclusive ways to meet the needs of children. I believe the world is a more beautiful and peaceful place when we listen to each other and allow different perspectives to be in the room. Writing is one of the most peaceful ways of addressing systemic inequality. Efforts to target me because of my op-ed in the Tufts Daily calling for the equal dignity and humanity of all people will not deter me from my commitment to advocate for the rights of youth and children.\u201d"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"Why is the government detaining R\u00fcmeysa?","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"To be clear, R\u00fcmeysa has not been charged with any crime. According to all available evidence, the government is putting R\u00fcmeysa through this harrowing experience solely because of the op-ed that she co-wrote with four other students for the college newspaper last spring<\/a>. The op-ed criticized Tufts leadership\u2019s response to the Tufts Community Union Senate passing several resolutions concerning human rights violations in Gaza. Months after that op-ed had been written, and just weeks before she was detained, the website Canary Mission published a profile on R\u00fcmeysa, including her photograph, claiming she \u201cengaged in anti-Israel activism.\u201d Its sole support for the contention was a link and screenshots of her op-ed.\r\n\r\nWhen asked about her case, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed revoking her visa, adding, \u201cwe gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses.\u201d"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"Why did they bring her Vermont? And why are they sending people to Louisiana?","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"The government claims it brought R\u00fcmeysa to St. Albans, VT, because there were no overnight beds for women available in Massachusetts. Usually, ICE detains people in Vermont in a state correctional facility<\/a>; for women, that\u2019s typically Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility (CCRF). ICE officials also said in court documents<\/a> that out-of-state transfers are \u201croutinely conducted after arrest, due to operational necessity.\u201d\r\n\r\nIt is true that over half of all immigration detainees are held in Texas and Louisiana; March 2024 data<\/a> suggests 18,596 people were detained in those two states compared to just 204 in Massachusetts or 648 in New York. However, immigration attorneys<\/a> say the late-night hopscotch is an increasingly common ICE tactic to complicate jurisdiction and thwart legal attempts to stop them from being removed. Louisiana and Texas, they say, are also favored destinations because the courts often issue decisions limiting migrant rights.\r\n\r\nAnd more generally, moving people away from their community isolates them from their attorneys, family, and friends, which the government hopes will drive some to give up their legal fight to stay in the United States."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"Has the government gone after other students?","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"R\u00fcmeysa is one of several students and scholars that the Trump administration has gone after for their protected speech. Her detainment follows those of Columbia University recent graduate student Mahmoud Khalil<\/a>, a permanent U.S. resident, and Georgetown University\u2019s Dr. Badar Khan Suri<\/a>.\r\n\r\nSince her detention, the Trump administration has also begun revoking hundreds of student visas across the country \u2014 often with no explanation whatsoever."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"heading","heading":{"":null,"text":"What happens next?","anchor":"","sub-heading":"","type":"h2","heading-style":"standard"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"Ultimately, the Trump administration cannot order ICE to silence anyone with political opinions they disagree with\u2014which is exactly what we will be arguing in court on Monday. We are urging the judge to order that ICE immediately release R\u00fcmeysa so that she can be reunited with her community in Somerville, where she hopes to resume her studies as soon as possible."}}],"issues":[1367,1366,1376],"related_content":null,"documents":null},"yoast_head":"\nWho is R\u00fcmeysa?<\/h2>\n
Why is the government detaining R\u00fcmeysa?<\/h2>\n
Why did they bring her Vermont? And why are they sending people to Louisiana?<\/h2>\n
Has the government gone after other students?<\/h2>\n
What happens next?<\/h2>\n