US Sen. Ed Markey calls Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk’s detention ‘national disgrace’

United States Sen. Ed Markey on Wednesday denounced the detention of Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk as a “national disgrace,” following a visit to meet her at a Louisiana immigration detention center.

“What has happened to Rumeysa Ozturk is… a national disgrace,” Markey told reporters at Logan International Airport in Boston, one day after a congressional delegation traveled to meet Ozturk and fellow detainee Mahmoud Khalil.

Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar and Ph.D. candidate in child and human development at Tufts University, was detained by masked ICE agents on March 25 outside her home in Somerville, Massachusetts. She has not been charged with a crime.

Turkish academic Rumeysa Ozturk detained by US authorities after being targeted by pro-Israel groups for Palestine protests

◼️ Ozturk recently co-authored article condemning Israel's actions in Gaza

◼️She now faces deportation despite holding a valid F-1 visa pic.twitter.com/XEzbZobcXK

— Türkiye Today (@turkiyetodaycom) March 26, 2025

‘Rumeysa has committed no crime’

“She told us she was afraid… They were rough with her,” Markey said. “She is suffering as anyone would in this circumstance because of that unconstitutional action.”

Markey, joined by Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Rep. Jim McGovern, called for the immediate release of Ozturk and Khalil, describing the detentions as politically motivated and authoritarian. Pressley said both detainees were being punished for exercising their First Amendment rights.

“Rumeysa has committed no crime,” Pressley said. “He [Khalil] was simply exercising his right to free speech… Instead of being home with his wife and newborn son, he is being unlawfully detained. This is cruel, it is unjust, and it is unacceptable.”

Khalil, a legal permanent resident married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested for participating in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. Although he faces no criminal charges, he was denied a temporary release to witness the birth of his first child.

McGovern accused the Trump administration of using immigration laws to detain political prisoners.

“They’re being silenced,” he said. “We won’t stop fighting until they’re released.”

The detentions were carried out under a rarely invoked provision of U.S. immigration law that allows for deportation of individuals whose presence is deemed to have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”

Ozturk and Khalil are challenging their detentions in court. Ozturk’s legal team argues her writings are constitutionally protected speech.