Congressional delegation visits grad student, PhD student held in ICE detention

Source: The Hill

04/22/25 10:04 PM ET


A Congressional delegation traveled to Louisiana on Tuesday to demand the release of Rümeysa Öztürk, a PhD student at Tufts University, and Mahmoud Khalil, a 2024 Columbia University graduate, and to examine conditions at their separate detention facilitie. It’s the first time a delegation has visited with either detainee. The visit was first reported by CNN.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) shared on X that he was heading to Louisiana to demand the release of Ozturk, one of his constituents.
Markey was joined by fellow Democrats, Reps. Troy Carter (La.), Bennie Thompson (Miss.), Ayanna Pressley and Jim McGovern (Mass.).

Ozturk’s arrest and detention sparked widespread concern after immigration officers in plain clothes detained her on March 25 and placed her in an unmarked van. She was sent from Massachusetts to New Hampshire, then Vermont and finally to Louisiana.

Her student visa was terminated, and attorneys argue that her due process rights are being violated. Just days ago, a federal judge ordered Ozturk to be transferred back to a detention facility in Vermont.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5262161-congressional-delegation-visit-rumeysa-ozturk-mahmoud-khalil/