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Reposted by @selinkulturel.bsky.social

Adam Steinbaugh @adamsteinbaugh.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Here is the newly-unsealed State Department memo confirming -- finally -- that the detention of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk was based on an op-ed. No antisemitic activity. No support of terrorism. An op-ed in a student newspaper. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Action Memo for Senior Bureau Official John Armstrong
FROM:
SUBJECT:
CA/VO - Stuart Wilson, Deputy Assistant Secretary
(SBU) Revocation of Fl Visa for Rumeysa OZTURK
(SBU) Recommendation 1: That you approve the revocation of the Fl visa,
effective immediately, for
under section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(INA). Due to ongoing ICE operational security, this revocation will be silent;
the Department will not notify the subject. (Approve/Disapprove by
03/21/25)
Decision: [Approved]
(SBU) Recommendation 2: That you authorize the transmission of the
attached notification to the Department of Homeland Security noting the,
immediate revocation of OZTURK's visa. (Approve/Disapprove by 03/21/25)

Decision: [Approved]

Background
(SBU} On March 21, 2025, the Assistant Director of the National Security Division of DHS/ICE's Homeland Security Investigations referred to CA information regarding Rumeysa OZTURK, a Turkish national, for a possible determination by the Secretary that the alien is deportable under INA section 237(a)(4)(C). As a nonimmigrant visa holder, such a determination is not necessary for OHS/ICE to pursue removal of OZTURK from the United States, as INA section 237(a}(1)(B) provides that an alien is deportable if their nonimmigrant visa has been revoked under INA section 221(i).

$(SBU) Under INA section 221(i), the Secretary of State may at any time, in his discretion, revoke a visa.. This authority is delegated to you pursuant to Delegation of Authority 367-4. Department policy reflected in 9 FAM 403.ll~S(B) provides that a visa may be revoked in cases of a suspected ineligibility, when an individual would not meet requirements .for admission, or "in other situations where warranted." (SBU) OZTURK was issued an F-1 visa on December 14, 2020, valid until December 9, 2025. According to information provided by OHS/ICE/HSI OZTURK is a post doctorate degree candidate in Child Studies and Human Development at Tufts University. On March 21, 2025, OHS/ICE/HSI referred information to CA indicating that OZTURK co-authored an op-ed in Tufts' student newspaper. In this article, the authors wrote, "Graduate Students for Pal'estine joins Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine (TSJP), the Tufts Faculty and Staff Coalition for Ceasefire, .and Fletcher Students for Palestine to reject the ,University's response" {to a student government resolution). According to OHS/ICE/HSI, Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine was placed\\ on interim suspension 11 after it used images of weapons to promote a protest rally and urged members of the Tufts community to 'join the student intifada." OHS/ICE/HSI referral concluded that "OZTURK's involvement in these activities and associations with these groups may undermine U.S. foreign. policy by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and indicating support for a designated terrorist organization." (SBU) While OZTURK has been involved with the actions protesting Turfts' relationship with Israel, QHS/ICE/HSI has not, however, provided any evidence showing that OZTURK has engaged in any antisemitic activity or made any public statements indicating support for a terrorist organization or antisemitism generally. While the report implies a connection between OZTURK and the now-banned Tufts Student for Justice in Pa…$

OZTURK was involved in any of the activities which resulted in TJSP being suspended from Tufts.

(SBU) Through a search on March 21, 2025, on available USG interagency databases, CA/VO identified no reporting specific to OZTURK, and interagency vetting partners did not provide any response to OZTURK's 2024 visa application indicating the existence of derogatory terrorism-related information.

(SBU) OHS did not identify any alternative grounds of removability that would be applicable to OZTURK, including the ground of removability for aliens who have provided material support to a foreign terrorist organization or terrorist activity, and have not indicated whether it plans to consider termination of OZTURK's SEVIS registration. Although information provided by OHS/HSI/ICE does not establish any potential ineligibility for OZTURK, you may, in your discretion and in accordance with Department policy in 9 FAM 403.11-5(8), approve revocation of her F-1 visa effective immediately based on the totality of the circumstances presented indicating that revocation may be warranted.

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