State Dept memo reportedly reveals contradictions in Trump Administration’s rationale for revocation of Öztürk’s visa, detention

Text of Letter (PDF)

WASHINGTON – After a recent report indicated that an internal State Department memo concluded that the key premise underlying Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk’s arrest and detention was false, Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately release the memo and any other relevant documentation. Last month, Pressley, Markey, and Warren led over 30 lawmakers in writing to Trump Administration officials demanding information about Rümeysa’s arrest and detention, and similar incidents across the country.

“Ms. Öztürk’s case demands transparency. The circumstances of her arrest and detention raise serious concerns about civil liberties, academic freedom, and free speech, as well as the Trump administration’s truthfulness. Congress, universities, legal experts, and other members of the public have a strong and compelling interest in the matter,” wrote the lawmakers.

On March 25th, plainclothes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents apprehended Rümeysa Öztürk outside her home in Somerville, Massachusetts. Ms. Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student, was informed that her student visa had been revoked. She was taken into custody and transferred to an immigration detention facility in Louisiana, where she has now been held for three weeks.

Publicly, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has claimed that Ms. Öztürk “engaged in activities in support of Hamas” and recommended revoking her visa under a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that permits the deportation of noncitizens who pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” The State Department has suggested that Öztürk’s visa was revoked on foreign-policy grounds because of alleged participation in activities linked to terrorism.

Reporting from the Washington Post revealed that, days before Öztürk’s arrest, an internal State Department memorandum concluded that the Trump administration lacked “any evidence showing that she engaged in antisemitic activities or made public statements supporting a terrorist organization.” The memo appears to contradict the federal government’s publicly

stated rationale for revoking Ms. Öztürk’s visa — and has not been made available to members of Congress or the American public.

The lawmakers requested a copy of the memo, along with any other documentation regarding the basis for Öztürk’s visa revocation and arrest, no later than April 30, 2025.

Rep. Pressley, along with Sens. Warren and Markey, have pushed for answers and action since Öztürk’s March arrest. Last month, they led over 30 lawmakers in writing to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons, demanding information about Öztürk’s arrest and detention as well as similar incidents across the country. The lawmakers also sounded the alarm on Öztürk’s medical neglect in DHS custody and renewed urgent calls for her release.

Last month, Congresswoman Pressley issued a statement condemning reports that ICE arrested and detained Rümeysa Öztürk. Earlier that week, Rep. Pressley issued a statement following reports of ICE activity in Boston and other municipalities in Massachusetts.

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