#Immigration ofcls also detained #Palestinian activist & #Columbia graduate #MahmoudKhalil – a #GreenCard holder – earlier this month in front of his pregnant wife, Noor, a US citizen. Other students detained by immigration ofcls include #BadarSuri, an Indian postdoctoral fellow at #Georgetown University, after #DHS accused him of having ties to Hamas.

In recent wks, federal authorities have detained a handful of other #university #students & #researchers – including #GreenCard holders – who have expressed #Palestinian solidarity amid #Israel’s deadly war on #Gaza. Earlier this week, 30-yr-old #RumeysaOzturk, a Turkish doctoral student at #Tufts University, was detained by masked federal ofcls in dramatic footage that has caused widespread outrage.

Also earlier this month, #Canada citizen #JasmineMooney was detained by US authorities & was held by #ICE for 2 weeks before being released. In another case, a tourist from #Germany, 29-yr-old tattoo artist #JessicaBrösche, spent 6 weeks in #detention including 8 days in #solitary confinement after she was arrested at the Mexican border on 18 Feb.

…A GoFundMe page set up by Anderson for #KseniyaPetrova said that the researcher was hired to work for #Harvard Medical School & had entered the US on a #WorkVisa. Anderson did not specify which work #visa category Petrova was under.
…Reports of Petrova’s detention come just weeks after a French #scientist was denied entry in the US this month after US #immigration officers searched his phone & found messages critical of #Trump.
#immigration #law #Constitution #DueProcess #CivilRights #DualState

We had no idea initially what had happened to her since she was unable to send any messages or make any calls upon detention. She was moved to a facility in Vermont at first & then #Louisiana where she is now. Where she is now is a #jail that has space rented by #ICE & is kept in a room with over 80 other female detainees,” Anderson posted.

…Why was she handcuffed & pulled off the street? She had not committed a #crime; she did not present a danger. She could have been notified of the change in her #visa status by mail, given instructions to leave the country promptly, & given a deadline with which to comply.

But merely pulling #RumeysaOzturk’s visa wasn’t the point. Even having Ozturk leave the country wasn’t the point. The point was to arrest her.

…It gets worse….

On Tues evening a masked group abducted a woman off the streets of #Boston. They wore no uniforms. Their faces were covered.…

The woman being abducted is #RumeysaOzturk, a #Tufts University grad student & Turkish national w/a valid #StudentVisa. She does not appear to have been charged w/any crimes. The US govt merely says that her student #visa has been *revoked* because she “supported Hamas,” but declined to give further details.

A senior #State Dept ofcl called the demonstrators it's targeting "Hamasniks" — people the government claims have shown support for the terror group.

More than 300 foreign students have had their #StudentVisas revoked in the 3 weeks "Catch & Revoke" has been in operation, the ofcl said. There are 1.5 million #student #visa-holders nationwide.

"Everyone is fair game," the ofcl said.

@dangillmor
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“But with Ozturk’s case—a brazen state #abduction in daylight, on video…it feels like a new threshold has been crossed.
When the gov rolls up on a young on the streets wi/no charges, no warning, no transparency, how else can you describe it?
It doesn’t matter if you have a #greencard a #visa or, maybe, any legal status at all.
Each new case is pushing the limits of the #law & the #trump admin has already made it clear it doesn’t care if the #courts try to what it’s doing.”

The agents identified themselves as being w/ #DHS & told #BadarSuri the govt had revoked his #visa…
Suri…was put in #deportation proceedings under the same rarely used provision of #immigration #law that the govt invoked to deport #MahmoudKhalil, the #ColumbiaUniversity grad student & #GreenCard holder who led pro-#Palestinian protests on campus. That provision gives the secy of #State power to deport noncitizens if he determines their continued presence in the #US would threaten #ForeignPolicy.