Rachel Maddow slams Trump administration for ‘authoritarian’ arrest of Tufts grad student Rumeysa Ozturk
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Rachel Maddow tore into the Donald Trump administration on Thursday night, March 27, after masked ICE agents arrested a Turkish graduate student, in what the MSNBC anchor called a chilling display of authoritarian power.
The 30-year-old student, identified as Rumeysa Ozturk, was forcibly detained by Homeland Security agents on Wednesday in an unmarked car, leaving the Tufts University community and civil rights activists outraged.
Captured on doorbell camera footage, the arrest quickly went viral and led to immediate protests demanding her release.
Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk was detained by ICE.
— Tori Bedford (@Tori_Bedford) March 26, 2025
A video shared with GBH News shows a man in a hoodie approach her, then grab her wrists. Ozturk screams, then asks “Can I call the police?” before being told “We’re the police.”https://t.co/6dwvEmqjVr@sweetadelinevt @GBHNews pic.twitter.com/NAAgGVpp9G
Maddow told her audience that the entire ordeal could have been avoided if the Trump administration had chosen to handle things differently, the RawStory reported.
Rachel Maddow lashes out against Donald Trump
Rachel Maddow said Rumeysa Ozturk’s detention is something out of an autocratic nightmare, warning her viewers that no one is safe under Trump’s leadership.
"Donald Trump is now claiming the right to do this to anyone," Maddow declared. "He is making the truly authoritarian claim that if you express an opinion that Donald Trump doesn't like, this is what will happen to you," she added.
According to Maddow, Ozturk’s only “crime” was writing an op-ed critical of the war in the Middle East—something she believes put her squarely in the crosshairs of the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Homeland Security officials said they had revoked Ozturk's student visa due to alleged connections to Hamas, though they refused to specify what those activities were. Maddow, however, wasn’t buying it.
"But even if signing an op-ed were grounds to revoke this young woman's visa, they could just tell her they were revoking her visa!" Maddow fumed.
"Tell her that she therefore needs to leave the country. Instead, they didn't tell her anything. They just sent masked goons to jump her on the street and throw her in an unmarked car and take her away," she added.
Within hours of Ozturk's arrest, thousands of people had gathered at Tufts University in spontaneous protests. "It is regular Americans that have been fighting against Trump and that’s what’s made the difference," Maddow remarked.
"Instantly thousands of people gathered on no notice in the immediate aftermath of a Tufts University student with a valid student visa, a Fulbright scholar, PhD candidate with no criminal record who'd had no notice from the government that they believed she had done anything wrong," Maddow continued, before adding, “That will now be litigated.”
Rumeysa Ozturk’s arrest is part of a larger crackdown
Rumeysa Ozturk is far from the only foreign national caught up in the Trump administration’s escalating immigration enforcement efforts.
According to CNN, she is one of several international students from elite American universities who have been detained for purported terrorist ties—albeit many have not been formally charged with anything.
Among them is Mahmoud Khalil, a well-known Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate, who was arrested outside his apartment earlier this month.
The Department of Homeland Security alleged that Ozturk had been "engaged in activities in support of Hamas," but provided no specifics. And when Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked about the arrest, he linked it to student protests over Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
"If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why you’re coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we’re not going to give you a visa," Rubio said.
He made it clear that Ozturk wasn’t an isolated case. "To date, the Trump administration has revoked hundreds of visas. Might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day," Rubio added.
For now, Ozturk remains in detention at an ICE facility in Louisiana, with no formal charges filed against her.
Tufts University President Sunil Kumar confirmed on Thursday that her visa had been terminated, but it’s unclear whether she will face deportation or further legal action.
