DHS agents detain Tufts University student for alleged participation in pro-Hamas activities

A doctoral student at Tufts University who is also a Turkish national was detained by agents at the Department of Homeland Security for allegedly participating in activities supporting the terrorist group Hamas.

The student, Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, is being held in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Basile, Louisiana. 

She was reportedly moved before a judge on Thursday ordered she be kept in Massachusetts, where the private, research university is located, according to The Associated Press.

Ozturk, 30, was leaving her home in Somerville, Massachusetts on Tuesday evening when she was stopped by authorities for no reason, her lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai says. 

A DHS spokesperson said that Ozturk “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.”

“A visa is a privilege, not a right,” the spokesperson said. “Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is common sense security.”