In a recent escalation of visa enforcement, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has revoked the visa of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University. According to DHS, Ozturk provided material support to Hamas, and as a result, US immigration authorities held her ineligible for admission to the US. This move is just the latest in an escalating crackdown on visas, mainly in order to exclude people for their role in pro-Palestine activism.
The revocation of Ozturk’s visa has created a firestorm. Critics say that this move directly attacks academic freedom and further chips away at free speech and personal freedoms. The damage done by the Trump administration’s harsh anti-immigrant agenda. They stopped green card processing for certain refugees and asylum seekers, and concurrently issued policy guidance that banned transgender athletes from entering facilities.
In June, Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the vastness of the visa crackdown. At that time, he announced that over 300 people had their visas revoked. Rubio defended these actions, arguing that they were taken on national security grounds. Responding to the actions, Trump called the perpetrators “lunatics” associated with US campus pro-Palestine demonstrations.
“Maybe more than 300 at this point. We do it every day, every time I find one of these lunatics.” – Marco Rubio
The US State Department has implemented a multi-layered visa-review process. In part because of this, they are revoking hundreds of visas and intensely scrutinizing many more. The department continues to maintain that it is prioritizing enforcement of visa terms for all visitors. Critics argue that such a process disproportionally singles out foreign nationals engaged in pro-Palestine activism.
“Overall, we continue to process hundreds of visa reviews to ensure visitors are not violating terms of their visas and do not pose a threat to the United States and our citizens,” – The state department
Ozturk’s case has particularly captured public attention because of the circumstances of her detention. Masked agents in plainclothes detained her in broad daylight after she expressed support for Palestinians in Gaza through an op-ed. The state department didn’t respond to a request for comment about the revoked visas. Others are asking for the distinction between if they were student or work visas.
“We revoked her visa… once you’ve lost your visa, you’re no longer legally in the United States … if you come into the US as a visitor and create a ruckus for us, we don’t want it. We don’t want it in our country. Go back and do it in your country.” – Marco Rubio