A bishop of The Episcopal Church has denounced the arrest and detention of a 30-year-old Turkish Muslim doctoral student federal officials accuse of supporting Hamas.
Rümeysa Öztürk, a student at the Massachusetts-based Tufts University, was arrested on March 25 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after leaving her off-campus apartment in Somerville to attend an iftar dinner.
Authorities have alleged that Öztürk, who was transferred to a detention center in Louisiana, violated her student visa by actively supporting Hamas, the militant organization that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and is recognized by the U.S. government as a foreign terror group.
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However, the Rt. Rev. Julia E. Whitworth, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, decried the arrest in a statement Tuesday.
“Our Christian faith calls us to renounce the promotion of xenophobia and fear to foment dehumanization of any of God’s children, especially immigrants and our newest neighbors,” stated Whitworth.
“Throughout the congregations of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, we are committed to radical welcome, care, and support of our most vulnerable neighbors and to collaboration with our ecumenical, interfaith, and secular partners for immigration justice.”
Whitworth contends it’s “critical that our community stand with Tufts University and those in higher education who seek to keep their international students safe and to guard the exchange of free speech and diverse viewpoints.”
“I urge our congregations and all people of faith to join me in praying for Ms. Öztürk and all who fear arrest and deportation on account of their nationality, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, or political views,” she added.
“I call upon every follower of Jesus, each community that gathers in his name, and all people of goodwill to do their part to love their neighbors, to respect the dignity of every human being, and to promote sanctuary, peace, and protection for all of God’s beloved children.”
Advocates believe Öztürk’s arrest stemmed from an opinion column in The Tufts Daily she co-authored with three other students calling for the university to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and divest from companies with any ties to Israel.
A federal judge ruled this week that the student can’t be deported “until further order” from the court. The government maintains she was taken to an ICE detention center in Louisiana before a court ruling ordering her to remain in Massachusetts. Her lawyers say her detention violates free speech and due process rights and have requested her return to the state.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told The Associated Press that investigations into Öztürk had indicated that she had “engaged in activities in support of Hamas.” DHS did not disclose specifics of this support.
Tufts University released a declaration of support for Öztürk on Wednesday, stating that the “opinion piece was not in violation of any Tufts policies.”
“For the record, a search of The Tufts Daily will reveal op-eds on multiple sides of the issue with opinions that were shared just as strongly as the op-ed Ms. Öztürk co-authored,” stated the university.
“The University has no further information suggesting that she has acted in a manner that would constitute a violation of the University’s understanding of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.”
According to Tufts leadership, many international students and staff “report being fearful of leaving their homes, even to attend and teach classes on campus.”
After a series of pro-Palestinian encampments and rallies on college campuses nationwide in response to the conflict between Hamas and Israel in Gaza that began in October 2023, several students have had their visas revoked since President Donald Trump took office in January.
Friends say that Öztürk wasn’t heavily involved in Tufts University protests, AP notes.
Among cases that have generated much media attention is the March 8 detention of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the lead negotiator for the on-campus anti-Israel demonstrations and encampments, which resulted in activists taking over a building on campus and allegations of harassment against Jewish students.
The conflict in Gaza began after Hamas militants invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians, and took around 250 hostages. Israel responded with a military offensive seeking to eliminate Hamas. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claims around 50,000 have been killed in Gaza since the war began.
The Trump administration has made a concerted effort to combat antisemitism on public university campuses, which reportedly surged since the start of the Israeli-Hamas war in 2023.
Last month, for example, Trump threatened to strip the federal funding of any public university that allowed for unlawful anti-Israel protests and encampments.
“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” Trump posted to his TruthSocial page a week after anti-Israel protesters at Barnard College, an affiliate of Columbia University, attacked a campus building and injured a university employee.
“Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS!”
