Individuals with ties to American universities, most of whom have proven help for pro-Palestinian causes, have been detained within the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants.
President Donald Trump and different officers have accused protesters and others of being “pro-Hamas,” referring to the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Many protesters have stated they have been talking out towards Israel’s actions within the warfare towards Hamas in Gaza.
Trump’s administration has cited a seldom-invoked statute authorizing the secretary of state to revoke visas of noncitizens who could possibly be thought-about a menace to international coverage pursuits. Greater than half a dozen persons are recognized to have been taken into custody or deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in latest weeks.
Rumeysa Ozturk
Federal officers detained 30-year-old Turkish pupil Rumeysa Ozturk on Tuesday as she walked alongside a road in suburban Boston. A senior Division of Homeland Safety spokesperson stated with out offering proof that an investigation discovered Ozturk, a doctoral pupil at Tufts College, “engaged in actions in help of Hamas,” which can be a U.S.-designated terrorist group.
The case of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts College pupil from Turkey detained by ICE, has sparked outrage locally.
Mahmoud Khalil
This month, immigration enforcement brokers arrested and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a authorized U.S. resident, Palestinian activist and graduate pupil who was distinguished in protests at Columbia final yr. The administration has stated it revoked Khalil’s inexperienced card as a result of his position within the campus protests amounted to antisemitic help for Hamas. He’s preventing deportation.
Khalil served as a negotiator for Columbia college students as they bargained with college officers over ending their campus encampment final spring. He was born in Syria and is married to an American citizen. His attorneys urged a federal choose on Friday to free their consumer from a Louisiana immigration detention middle and argued his case shouldn’t be moved to Louisiana courts. The choose stated he would difficulty a call quickly.
Yunseo Chung
Yunseo Chung is a Columbia pupil and lawful U.S. resident who moved to America from Korea as a toddler. Chung attended and was arrested at a sit-in this month at close by Barnard Faculty protesting the expulsion of scholars who participated in pro-Palestinian activism.
The Division of Homeland Safety needs to deport Chung and has stated she “engaged in concerning conduct,” together with being arrested on a misdemeanor cost. A choose ordered immigration brokers to not detain Chung whereas her authorized problem is pending.
Badar Khan Suri
Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown scholar from India, was arrested outdoors his Virginia dwelling and detained by masked Homeland Safety brokers on allegations that he unfold Hamas propaganda. Suri’s legal professional wrote in a court docket submitting that he was focused due to his social media posts and his spouse’s “identity as a Palestinian and her constitutionally protected speech.” Suri holds a visa authorizing him to be within the U.S. as a visiting scholar, and his spouse is a U.S. citizen, in accordance with court docket paperwork.
Suri was taken to a detention facility in Louisiana, in accordance with a authorities web site. His attorneys are searching for his instant launch and to halt deportation proceedings.
Courtesy Georgetown College
Courtesy Georgetown College
Badar Khan Suri.
Leqaa Kordia
Leqaa Kordia, a resident of Newark, New Jersey, was detained and accused of failing to depart the U.S. after her pupil visa expired. Federal authorities stated Kordia is a Palestinian from the West Financial institution and that she was arrested at or close to Columbia throughout pro-Palestinian protests. Columbia has stated it has no file of her being a pupil there.
Kordia is being held in an immigration detention middle in Alvarado, Texas, in accordance with a authorities database.
Ranjani Srinivasan
Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen and doctoral pupil at Columbia, fled the U.S. after immigration brokers looked for her at her college residence. The Trump administration has stated it revoked Srinivasan’s visa for “advocating for violence and terrorism.” Srinivasan opted to “self-deport.”
Officers didn’t say what proof they’ve that Srinivasan advocated violence. Her attorneys deny the accusations, and she or he advised The New York Occasions that she did not assist to prepare protests at Columbia.
Alireza Doroudi
College of Alabama doctoral pupil Alireza Doroudi of Iran was detained by ICE on Tuesday. David Rozas, a lawyer representing Doroudi, says Douridi was learning mechanical engineering. His pupil visa was revoked in 2023, however his lawyer has stated he was eligible to proceed his research so long as he maintained his pupil standing and met different necessities of his entry into america.
A Division of Homeland Safety spokesperson stated Friday that the arrest was remodeled the revocation of Doroudi’s pupil visa, saying he “posed significant national security concerns.” A spokesperson stated they might not share further particulars.
In contrast to another college students focused by ICE, Dorudi’s lawyer stated there is no such thing as a indication that his consumer was concerned in any political protests. Doroudi advised his lawyer he isn’t conscious of any suspected prison exercise or violations. He was detained in Alabama however will likely be moved to an immigration facility in Jena, Louisiana.
Dr. Rasha Alawieh
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist from Lebanon who beforehand labored and lived in Rhode Island, was deported this month, regardless that a federal choose ordered that she not be eliminated till a listening to could possibly be held. Homeland Safety officers stated Alawieh was deported as quickly as she returned to the U.S. from Lebanon, regardless of having a U.S. visa, as a result of she “openly admitted” supporting former Hezbollah leaderHassan Nasrallah. Alawieh advised officers she adopted him for his non secular and religious teachings and never his politics, court docket paperwork stated.
She was to start out work at Brown College as an assistant professor of medication. Stephanie Marzouk, Alawieh’s lawyer, has stated she’s going to struggle to get the 34-year-old physician again to the U.S.
Momodou Taal
Momodou Taal is a doctoral pupil at Cornell College whose visa was revoked after he participated in campus demonstrations.
Taal, a citizen of the UK and Gambia, has requested a federal choose to halt his detention throughout his court docket problem. The federal government says it revoked Taal’s pupil visa due to his alleged involvement in “disruptive protests.”
His attorneys say the 31-year-old doctoral pupil in Africana research was exercising free speech rights. Taal stated he’ll give up to immigration authorities if the court docket determines the federal government is appearing legally. Taal stated in a court docket declaration that “I feel like a prisoner already, although all I have done is exercise my rights.”
