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Wu to join rally Tuesday evening for detained Tufts student
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and labor union leaders will gather in support of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk outside the JFK Federal Building.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will join a rally Tuesday in support of Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts graduate student who was detained by ICE last week. Wu is set to join labor union leaders and others as they protest the Trump administration’s crackdown on visa holders potentially linked to pro-Palestine protests.
Wu will appear alongside SEIU 509 President Dave Foley and SEIU International President April Verrett at the “Defend Freedom of Speech” rally. It is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday outside the JFK Federal Building on Sudbury Street in Boston, according to a release from organizers.
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Similar rallies are being held in nine other cities across the country, including New York City and Seattle, according to organizers.
Öztürk, a Turkish citizen who was pursuing her PhD at Tufts, was swarmed by federal agents on a Somerville sidewalk as she went to break fast with friends a week ago. Video of her arrest circulated widely online. She was quickly flown to a detention center in Louisiana, despite a judge ordering her not to be moved from Massachusetts without 48 hours notice. Federal prosecutors said that she was already moved to Louisiana by the time that order was issued. Öztürk’s lawyer did not know her location for almost 24 hours.
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Öztürk remains detained in Louisiana. A judge has since ordered her not to be deported while her case is being considered. Federal officials have until Tuesday evening to respond to that order.
Öztürk’s attorney said that she had maintained a valid F-1 visa. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that her visa had been revoked and promised further action against “lunatics” that participated in harassment, vandalism, or other disruptive protest activity on campuses.
Öztürk was not known as an outspoken protest leader at Tufts. She co-authored an op-ed last year in The Tufts Daily that called for the school to divest from Israeli companies and for administrators to take a stronger stance against the war in Gaza.
The Department of Homeland Security accused Öztürk of “glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans.” The op-ed makes no mention of Hamas, and federal officials have not produced evidence showing Öztürk explicitly supports the terrorist group or participated in the disruptive protest behavior Rubio described.
Her lawyers say that Öztürk was detained before she had received any notice of the revocation of her student visa. They allege Öztürk’s arrest and detention violates the First and Fifth amendments.
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Öztürk’s arrest drew thousands to a protest in Somerville last week, and outrage has been widespread.
Öztürk is a member of SEIU Local 509. Foley, in a statement, called her detention “part of Homeland Security’s despicable effort to stifle speech by immigrants who express views that Donald Trump and his surrogates simply don’t like.”
When asked about the situation Monday, Gov. Maura Healey demanded answers and said that Öztürk was targeted simply for expressing her free speech.
“Donald Trump said that he was going to target criminals, get them off the streets. I’m all for that. But, increasingly, what we’re seeing is not that,” Healey said, per NBC 10 Boston. “The Department of Homeland Security needs to provide information. We know nothing about the circumstances here. It appears that she’s been targeted not because of crimes she committed, because she hadn’t committed any crime, but she’s been targeted because of what is free speech and something she signed on to in a student newspaper.”
Wu will likely reflect similar sentiments Tuesday evening. She has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies, with her administration drawing the ire of federal officials and GOP lawmakers.
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