Di US State Department don tok say dem no see any evidence wey show say Rumeysa Ozturk, one Turkish graduate student wey dey Tufts University for Massachusetts, do anti-Semitic activity or support any terrorist organisation, na wetin one report talk.

Di Washington Post talk on Sunday say one memo wey dem write for March inside di State Department conclude say no reason dey to cancel Ozturk visa based on di Trump administration claim say she dey support di Palestinian resistance group Hamas or say she do anti-Semitism or violence, as di Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allege.

Di memo, wey anonymous sources describe give di Post, talk say Secretary of State Marco Rubio no get enough reason to cancel Ozturk visa under di law wey allow am act to protect di country foreign policy interest.

Ozturk, wey be Fulbright scholar and PhD student for child and human development for Tufts, dem carry am for broad daylight by masked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for outside her Somerville apartment.

Her detention follow di online attack wey di pro-Israel website Canary Mission do, wey target her because she co-write one op-ed for di student newspaper The Tufts Daily for March 2024, wey criticise di university response to Israel brutal attack for Gaza.

Di DHS memo, wey senior official Andre Watson send give one State Department counterpart, talk say "Ozturk do anti-Israel activism after di Hamas terrorist attack on Israelis for October 7, 2023."

Di memo talk say she "co-write one op-ed article" wey "call make Tufts disclose di investments and comot money from companies wey get direct or indirect connection to Israel."

Desperate attempts

One separate memo wey di Post see talk say DHS recommend make dem cancel Ozturk visa under di Immigration and Nationality Act wey require di secretary of state to get "reasonable grounds" to believe say person presence fit cause "bad policy consequence for di United States."

Di memo also talk say no US government database show any terrorism-related information about Ozturk. Another internal document talk say di visa cancellation go dey "silent," meaning say dem no go inform her before di action.

When dem ask di department spokesperson Tammy Bruce for March during daily press briefing, she talk say she no fit discuss "something wey dey court, wey dem dey judge." Bruce add say "DHS believe say she commit crime wey require her detention," but she no give more details or evidence.

Crackdown

Ozturk case na one for di growing list of cases wey target pro-Palestine students wey dey criticise Israel action for Gaza.

For March 8, authorities arrest Mahmoud Khalil, wey lead di pro-Palestine protests for Columbia University last Spring. Trump hail di arrest and talk say na "di first of many." Trump, without evidence, accuse Khalil say he dey support Hamas. Khalil deny any link to di resistance group. One US judge for April 12 talk say dem fit deport am.

Few days after Khalil arrest, Trump claim come true as dem arrest another pro-Palestine student, Badar Khan Suri, one Indian researcher for Georgetown University. Him lawyer talk say dem arrest am because of di Palestinian identity of him wife.

After dem arrest Suri, authorities go after another pro-Palestine student, Momodou Taal, tell am make he surrender himself.

For March 25, Yunseo Chung, one Columbia University student, talk say she sue di Trump administration to stop her deportation from di US because she join pro-Palestine protest last Spring.

Other students, like Leqaa Kordia, Ranjani Srinivasan, and Alireza Doroudi, dem either detain dem or dem self-deport.