WASHINGTON 

US lawmakers and rights groups have denounced the detention of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Ph.D. student at Tufts University and Fulbright scholar, following her criticism of Israel, calling it an alarming crackdown on free speech and civil liberties.

Ozturk was taken into custody by masked federal agents in broad daylight, with authorities claiming she engaged in activities supporting the Palestinian group Hamas—an allegation her family and advocates strongly deny.

Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib slammed the detention, warning of escalating government repression.

“The Trump administration is abducting people off the streets,” Tlaib wrote on Instagram.

“They are starting with people who stand up for Palestinians and human rights…but they won’t stop there. Next will be environmental justice and abortion care advocates, those fighting corporate greed, union members, and others resisting Project 2025,” she added, referring to the conservative blueprint for a second Trump term.

Senator Elizabeth Warren also criticized the administration’s actions, calling them part of a broader assault on fundamental rights.

“This arrest is the latest in an alarming pattern to stifle civil liberties,” Warren said. “The Trump administration is targeting students with legal status and ripping people out of their communities without due process. This is an attack on our Constitution and basic freedoms—and we will push back.”

Ilhan Omar, a Democratic Representative from Minnesota, called Ozturk's detention "horrifying."

"Disappearing and targeting students with legal status over peaceful political speech is unconstitutional and a clear violation of due process and free speech. Another blatant act of authoritarianism by the Trump Administration. Rumeysa must be released," she wrote on X.

New York Representative Nydia Velazquez also accused the Trump administration of "going after people for speech they don't like.”

"Rumeysa Ozturk, a Fulbright Scholar, was ambushed on the street for criticizing U.S. foreign policy. This isn’t immigration enforcement. It’s political repression. She must be released immediately," she wrote on X.

Rights organizations echoed these concerns.

Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, Esq., executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Massachusetts chapter (CAIR-MA), called Ozturk’s detention an “abduction” and an attack on academic freedom.

“We unequivocally condemn the abduction of a young Muslim hijab-wearing scholar by masked federal agents in broad daylight,” Amatul-Wadud said.

“This alarming act of repression is a direct assault on free speech and academic freedom. Massachusetts residents must recognize the dangerous precedent being set—the federal government is resorting to draconian tactics to silence those who speak out against our nation’s complicity in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people. We demand Rumeysa Ozturk’s immediate and safe release and full transparency regarding her detention.”

Ozturk was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) late Tuesday near her home in Somerville, Massachusetts while heading to an iftar dinner to break her fast during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, according to her lawyer.

Her detention follows a campaign by Canary Mission, a pro-Israel website that blacklists pro-Palestine students and activists. In 2024, Ozturk co-authored an op-ed in Tuft University’s newspaper, The Tufts Daily, urging the school to acknowledge what she described as the Palestinian genocide and to divest from companies with ties to Israel.

Ozturk’s detention also comes amid the Trump administration's widespread crackdown on pro-Palestinian students and academics, including Palestinian activist and recent Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil and Georgetown University researcher Badar Khan Suri.

A viral video captured the moments of Ozturk's detention, showing masked individuals handcuffing her despite her not resisting.