Secretary of State Marco Rubio stood by the arrest of a Turkish graduate student over what the Trump administration described as "pro Hamas" views, saying the decision to revoke her visa was justified.
"We revoked her visa. Once you've lost your visa, you're no longer legally in the United States. If you come into the U.S. as a visitor and create a ruckus for us, we don't want it. We don't want it in our country. Go back and do it in your country," Rubio said in a press conference on Thursday, referring to the case of Rumeysa Ozturk, arrested on the street by ICE agents in plain clothes.
Marco Rubio on Rumeysa Ozturk: "We revoked her visa ... once you've lost your visa, you're no longer legally in the United States ... if you come into the US as a visitor and create a ruckus for us, we don't want it. We don't want it in our country. Go back and do it in your… pic.twitter.com/xqvCtLzaiq
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 27, 2025
Rubio went on to say that "if you lie to us and get a visa, and then enter the United States" to participate in activities such as "vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings," their visas will be revoked.
"It's stupid to welcome people into your country that will go to your universities as visitors and say 'I'm going to start a riot, take over a library and harass people. We gave you a visa to come and study, not to become a social activist that tears up university campuses," Rubio added.
Ozturk's arrest made national headlines on Thursday as video of her arrest on the street began circulating. Her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, said she was on her way to break her Ramadan fast with friends when she was approached by law enforcement. She had a valid F-1 student visa as a doctoral student.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said she had "engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans." "A visa is a privilege, not a right," the spokesperson added.
Images taken of the arrest show her becoming agitated as she is approached by officers. She then has her backpack removed and is escorted out of frame with her hands behind her back. After she asks "can I call the police?" she is told "we're the police, relax."
The online detainee locator system showed Ozturk was being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center. "Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security," the DHS spokesperson added when discussing her arrest.
The event follows the high-profile arrest of Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, targeted for deportation as a result of his role in campus protests despite holding a green card.
Moreover, the Trump administration is reportedly considering banning some colleges from having any foreign students if it determines that too many of them are "pro-Hamas."
Axios reported on Thursday that the administration is targeting "Hamasniks" who have shown public support for the group, considered a terrorist organization by the U.S.
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