The Trump administration has intensified its crackdown on international students involved in pro-Palestinian activism, with several students facing visa revocation and detention. Among those targeted are Rumeysa Ozturk, Mahmoud Khalil, and Badar Khan Suri, all of whom have publicly expressed support for Palestinians affected by the Gaza war.

Turkish Student Detained in Massachusetts

On Tuesday, U.S. authorities detained Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national and doctoral student at Tufts University, revoking her student visa. Security footage from Somerville, Massachusetts, captured six plainclothes officers apprehending Ozturk near her apartment as she was heading out for Iftar.

Ozturk, a Fulbright Scholar in Child Study and Human Development, had been legally residing in the U.S. on a valid student visa. She recently co-authored an opinion piece in The Tufts Daily criticizing her university president for dismissing student resolutions calling for divestment from companies linked to Israel.

Trump’s Crackdown on Student Activists

The arrests come amid Trump’s executive order, signed on January 29, 2025, titled “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism.” The order directed federal agencies to report on measures to combat anti-Semitism, which the administration has controversially linked to student protests against the Gaza war.

Following the order, the White House issued a statement declaring:
“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you.”

Trump also vowed to revoke visas for “Hamas sympathizers” on U.S. college campuses, alleging that pro-Palestinian protests spread anti-Semitism and extremism—a claim that students, lawyers, and activists strongly dispute. Notably, Jewish advocacy groups have played a leading role in many of the protests opposing the Gaza war.

With multiple international students now facing deportation, human rights organizations and legal advocates are mobilizing to challenge the administration’s actions.