With each passing day, the ICE detentions keep getting out of hand. A recent case involving an international student of Tufts University, a private academic institution in Massachusetts, has made the Internet enraged. Things might have gone too far this time.
A viral clip making rounds on several social media platforms captured the detention in broad daylight. The student, wearing a hijab, was walking by the sidewalk when three men crossed over from the other side of the road to approach her. Two of them were wearing dark-colored hoodies and face caps. The third man wore a brown uniform shirt, usually associated with ICE, over black pants. The hoodie men immediately harassed the female Muslim student, handcuffing her while she raised her voice to call for help. Soon, two females wearing masks, presumed to be also ICE officers, joined the group and tried to get the woman to reduce her voice. They spoke to her woman-to-woman while one of the make agents handcuffed the panicked student.
The person behind the camera recording the incident from a high building could he heard yelling, “You guys covering your faces? You mind taking those masks off? Is this a kidnapping? Why are you hiding your faces?” Despite the observer asking cogent questions, the presumed agents ignored him, whisking the frantic woman into a blacked-out SUV. Once in, the agents dispersed to their vehicles and exited the scene.
The viral footage has since garnered reactions, and people are far from happy about the student’s poor treatment.
“Brownshirt cowards hiding behind masks. This country is absolutely f**ked,” one comment read.
“They are illegally abducting people and want to hide their identity from Vigilantes, who would be the only group of people at this point attempting to stop them,” another user suggested.
“They’re not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks,” this netizen observed.
“Looks like some kind of 3rd world secret police,” a fourth fan agreed.
“Where are their ICE jackets? These look like they could be anyone? Unacceptable,” another comment read.
The student in the video has been identified as Rumeysa Ozturk, from Turkey, who is studying for her PhD at Tufts. In a statement from the president’s office, Ozturk’s arrest was confirmed. However, the university insisted it had no “pre-knowledge” of the detention, and neither did they receive information from authorities prior to the arrest. The 30-year-old was meeting friends for iftar when the arrest happened.
Ozturk’s lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, has now filed a petition in Boston federal court, AP reports. According to him, her loved ones are unaware of her whereabouts and have been unable to contact her. Rumeysa Ozturk was in the US on a study visa.
