Donald Trump’s administration is arresting legal residents off the street with little to no proof. Several international students were arrested for engaging in “activities in support of Hamas.” The mass deportation of these students is making people wonder if free speech will now come with a side of legal consequences under the current government’s rule.
The Department of Homeland Security is being heavily criticized for the drastic measures they are taking. A Turkish student by the name Rumeysa Ozturk was recently ambushed and arrested by several DHS officers.
A video shows the Turkish national being arrested by several masked agents. She is then led to an taken to an unmarked car, which drives away. Ozturk is currently a student at Tufts University studying to get her PHD.
The student was arrested for writing a story for the school newspaper that supported Hamas, as reported by The New Republic. “Credible accusations against Israel include accounts of deliberate starvation and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians and plausible genocide,” read a quote from the article that Ozturk wrote.
A spokesperson from the DHS claimed that the Turkish citizen was arrested for engaging in activities that supported Hamas. “Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated,” they added. The fact that no substantial proof of the student supporting the terrorist organisation was provided is raising eyebrows.
Marco Rubio, who serves as the Secretary of State of the United States, recently addressed Ozturk’s situation. The 53-year-old revealed that the international student’s visa had already been “revoked” by the government. “Once you’ve lost your visa, you’re no longer legally in the United States,” he added.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “I find it ironic that a lot of these people out there defending alleged ‘free speech rights’ of these Hamas sympathizers — they had no problem pressuring social media to censor Americans.”
— America (@america) March 16, 2025
Rubio went on to explain how if a visitor in the USA is not welcomed if they create a “ruckus” by being there. He concluded by adding, “Go back and do it in your country.” In the same press conference, the secretary of state revealed how the Trump administration has suspended 300 student visas.
Notably, the foreign nationals who got their visas revoked had one thing in common– their open affiliation with Gaza. Most of the students were openly speaking or protesting against Israel.
Rubio revealed how the government has gotten “gotten rid” of the international students supporting Gaza with the help of DHS. “But we’re looking every day for these lunatics that are tearing things up,” he added.
The Trump administration and its ways are being heavily scrutinized for the swift revocation of the student visas. Citizens are now raising questions about the right to free speech and why the current government is criminalising it.
Trump only wants his speech to be free.
If you don’t agree with him then he wants to shut you down eg: SNL, blocking social media critics, banning certain news stations/reporters and canceling votes etc.— CJ 🌊 (@CJ_isnowblue) July 8, 2021
The government is also being criticised for its rather aggressive approach to deporting these students. Many are alarmed by how the students are being ambushed by several armed agents and being led to detention centers. Media outlets and individuals alike are speaking out against how basic humanitarian rights like free speech are being snatched away from the people residing in the nation.
The Trump government’s recent actions have raised an alarming question in the nation. Is Donald Trump and his administration trying to undermine the core of U.S. democracy, which was built on the principle of protecting its people’s rights?
