In a March 21 memo explaining the justification for revoking Ozturk's student visa, a State Department official said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had determined that she was "involved in associations that 'may undermine U.S. foreign policy by creating a hostile environment for Jewish students and indicating support for a designated terrorist organization,' including [co-authoring] an op-ed that found common cause with an organization that was later temporarily banned from campus." "If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student," he said, and "the reason why you're coming to the United States is not just 'cause you wanna write op-eds, but because you wanna participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we're not gonna give you a visa." The brief, which was joined by the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Rutherford Institute, PEN America, the Cato Institute, and the First Amendment Lawyers Association, noted that Rubio "deemed Ozturk deportable "not because the government claims she committed a crime or other deportable offense" but "for the seemingly sole reason that her expression—an op-ed in a student newspaper—stirred the Trump administration to anger."
Author: Jacob Sullum
Published at: 2026-02-10 22:07:56
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