Rümeysa Öztürk was on her way to a gathering of friends when masked immigration and customs officers handcuffed her on the streets of Somerville, Mass., in front of onlookers who didn’t seem to be sure whether it was the police, or kidnappers who were taking her. The 30-year-old Tufts PhD student and Turkish national was then sent to a detention center in Louisiana, as with other students who have been detained in the previous weeks and months.
Öztürk’s alleged crime? She co-wrote an op-ed for her student newspaper, The Tufts Daily. It was published a year before her arrest, which took place on March 25.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is meant to protect freedom of speech and expression. This is the basis of journalism, going back to the very beginning of U.S. history. That protection no longer seems to apply to non-citizens, which is not only shameful for our country but a major blow against the very institutions the United States stands for.
Free and protected journalism is one of the vital pillars of a functioning democracy. Without it, the marketplace of ideas, upon which informed elections are built, no longer functions as it should. Without journalism, the voting public runs the risk of going to the polls ignorant of the issues at stake. There is a reason freedom of speech and expression are part of the First Amendment. Without a legitimate outlet for political discourse, the rest of the Constitution is essentially impotent. It is the most vital part of that document, which the founders of this country recognized.
Freedom of the press was included in the United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Which brings us back to Öztürk.
Before her arrest, she was a Fulbright scholar here on a valid F-1 visa, which has since been revoked, though no charges have been filed against her. Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed she had been involved in disruptive student protests over Israel’s actions in Gaza, though this claim has not been backed up with evidence as of yet.
The only evidence available at the moment is her opinion article.
Öztürk’s article does not show support for terrorism. It does not show support for Hamas. Instead, it expresses an opinion, just as this piece expresses an opinion. The opinion Öztürk and her co-writers express is that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza, and that Tufts should divest itself from any Israeli interests it holds. It is an opinion similar to what has been written in many of the legitimate papers published in this country. Just as those same papers have published opposing opinions on the same issue.
If I had written that article, I would have nothing to fear. Indeed, I have written articles about President Trump and his policies that are far more inflammatory than Öztürk’s position. I wasn’t detained. I wasn’t sent to Louisiana. I don’t have to worry about being deported.
Clearly, there is a double standard here. Yes, I write for a small student newspaper at a small, Jesuit Catholic university. No, that does not make my comments about President Trump any less offensive. So what’s the difference?
It should now be obvious to everyone that the contents of a person’s speech no longer matter so much as their status in this country, which is all that truly separates me from Öztürk. If you are not an American citizen and you say or write something that in the least bit contradicts the positions and policies of the Trump administration as it pertains to Israel and Palestine, you are risking your continued safety.
Students and student publications across this country need to stand together. We can not allow vulnerable non-citizens to continue to take the fall for their opinions. It does not matter what opinions they hold. Just like everybody in this country, their speech is protected, and it ought to stay protected. Citizens need to stand beside those who seek to exercise the tenets of the Constitution. The citizens of the United States need to take a stand against the government when they know it is doing wrong.
Effectively kidnapping students for what they write in their local publications is a threat against all of us, and a threat against the sanctity of journalism. Öztürk’s arrest is just one example of the recent arrests and deportations of international students for their roles, big or small, in campus protests and activism. It may start at Tufts, but it will not stop there.
I urge each and every one of you to take a stand. I urge you to speak out. Lone voices can be silenced, but the voice of the people can never be made quiet.
Consider the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller, who wrote “First They Came” in 1946.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
