I was like millions of Americans who were shocked to learn about — and to see the frightening video of — the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) thugs kidnapped of Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk in broad daylight. She was seemingly targeted because she was one of four coauthors of an op-ed published in the Daily last year.

 

Her arrest came after the pro-Israel group Canary Mission (CM) flagged Ozturk for having "engaged in anti-Israel activism in March 2024" and Canary Mission shared the information with Marco Rubio and the Israeli embassy. Canary Mission engages in collecting information about Interantional student and professors who are critical of Apartheid Israel and enjoy tax-exempt status but it is not registered as a foreign lobby group. That begs the question, where is the IRS when you need it to revoke CM's tax-exempt status?

 

 

According to Salon News Editor, Charles R. Davis, "That activism, according to the group, consisted entirely of co-authoring an op-ed in The Tufts Daily, a student newspaper, in which she and three other graduate students called on the school to 'acknowledge the Palestinian genocide' and divest from companies with ties to Israel, as called for in resolutions passed by the student Senate." The four coauthors argued in the op-ed, "We, as graduate students, affirm the equal dignity and humanity of all people," the students wrote in the article, published March 26, 2024. "There were no antisemitic remarks in op-ed." Plus, no one should be arrested or deported for writing an op-ed. Below is a link to the op-ed published by the Tufts Daily on March 26, 2024, which is the only reason the US State Department targeted Rümeysa Öztürk and the reason behind her arrest by ICE agents.

 

ttps://www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2024/03/4ftk27sm6jkj

 

Ozturk's attorney told Salon that her client has a valid F-1 student visa and was "heading to meet with friends to break her Ramadan fast" when she was detained by over half a dozen DHS agents outside her home." Here is the link to the article which Ozturk co-authored. I should add here that government never bothered the other three co-authors because they were US citizens. A true lesson in promoting democracy.

 

Following her arrest her attorney filed a petition on Ozturk's behalf, seeking to prevent her from being transported out of state or sneaked out of the US. That request was granted by a U.S. District Judge. However, as in previous cases, fascism doesn't care about civil rights, never has, and never will. When you vote for a Republican, you are voting to give up YOUR civil rights not just to the people you hate. And it will be VERY difficult to get them back. Who are you kidding? Americans are not that stupid.

 

Israel is a foreign country that shares few values with the United States. Its system of citizenship is primarily based on religion, and the country has, according to Adalah, the legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel published report that revealed more than 50 laws “enacted since 1948 that directly or indirectly discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel in all areas of life.” 

 

"Little Marco" Rubio message to international students and visitors

 

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio estimated that he had already signed about 300 letters to revoke visas from students and other visitors to the United States. His message means, "If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student and you chose to engage in constitutionally protected rights, such as writing op-eds, protesting the Israeli genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, hurting the feeling of Jewish students, and taking over buildings, we’re not going to give you a visa and we will revoke your visa and even your permanent legal residency status (Green Card) under the pretext that you support terrorism."

 

Hold on, Mr. Marco Rubia, there is nowhere in the law that Sec. of State can revoke the green card holder. A green card is a permanent legal residency state that is protected by law indefinitely unless the person chose to apply for citizenship. Only a court of law can revoke the green card. 

 

So, if you aren't frightened by our government's crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters to appease Israel, you should be wondering what other rights will be trampled next? Yours? Anyone with any semblance of decency should be anti-Israel at this point. After all, they are committing a genocide. Even the Israeli Death Forces (IDF) are now showing pictures of Israeli soldiers with their faces blurred by to avoid getting them arrested for war crimes. Why on earth would the Trump Administration come defend a bunch of war criminals?

 

On March 15, the Trump Administration deported a 30-year-old Salvadoran man with a U.S. citizen wife & child, despite having a protected legal status, the ICE director admitted it was an error but the Trump Administration argued that because he is no longer in U.S. custody, the court cannot order his return. When our government mistakenly expels a green card holder and they say it is was a "clerical error", it is a bunch of BS. Truth is, it is called "due process." The EXACT reason the GOP are trying to undermine the three co-equal branches of government and why they should not be allowed.