In the aftermath of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) abduction of Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk, greater Boston residents are organizing behind a variety of concerns and objections: the violation of free speech principles, the brutal and illegal nature of the detainment, and the connection to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On March 25th, four masked, plainclothes ICE agents approached Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish national on a student visa, on a street near her home. Without explanation, and without the legal requirements of criminal charges and due process, they arrested her and drove away in an unmarked truck. At the time of writing, Ozturk is still lost in the labyrinthian network of ICE facilities.
Öztürk had been a legal Massachusetts resident before her visa was suddenly revoked without her knowledge. While Öztürk had been involved in pro-Palestine protests at Tufts this past year, the Trump Administration alleged that she had been involved in activities “that support Hamas”—a claim that has since been proven baseless by the US State Department.
Less than 24 hours after Öztürk was detained, over 2,000 people showed up to protest in Powderhouse Square. The protest was strikingly similar to the scenes of college protests from the past year; students wore keffiyehs and face masks, waved Palestinian flags, and chanted, “ceasefire now!” Leila Skinner, an organizer and member of Somerville for Palestine, explained the focus on Palestinian liberation in the wake of Öztürk’s detainment. “Rümeysa’s detainment shows more how those two struggles are connected: fighting for immigrant rights and fighting for a ceasefire in Gaza,” she told the Register Forum. “If anything, it is going to prompt people to mobilize—like we saw tonight. There are hundreds of people showing up in solidarity with Rümeysa, and with the Palestinian cause.”
Attendees described feeling shock and horror at the nature of Öztürk’s detainment. “It is so terrifying to even hear about, but then to see the video, and hear her screaming… this is so messed up. Who does this?”
Protesters and organizers also emphasized a distinctly anti-government lens. “The Democratic party is not going to save you,” said one speaker. “Do not call your democratic leaders begging for something that you know they won’t do. You have to do it yourself.” Instead of relying on elected representatives, “it is time to get real about building community power. We need to take action on behalf of our most vulnerable neighbors.”
As sunset fell, protesters chanted, “who keeps us safe? We keep us safe!” A local Honk! band played the union standard, “Which Side Are You On?”
The April 5th Boston Hands Off protest attracted several thousand people calling for an end to the Trump Administration’s executive overreach and Musk’s DOGE funding cuts; it also became a touchstone for voicing public opinion against Öztürk’s detainment. Many protesters here were more concerned about the apparent government prosecution of an individual’s free speech.
“Free Rümeysa” posters dotted the crowd, hoisted by groups such as the MIT Graduate Students Union. “Rümeysa was detained simply for exercising her right to free speech, by writing an op-ed,” one member told the Register Forum.
Another crowd member, Alan Converse, chimed in. “These are the tactics of dictatorship. This is exactly the kind of thing that Putin does.” He added, “I differ on public questions, on the Palestinian question, from Ms. Öztürk—but that doesn’t change the principle of her right to opinions.”
Converse pointed to a nearby sign: “Free Speech Means Free Rümeysa.”
This article also appears in our April 2025 print edition.
