Free Speech Under Siege: University Detentions and Democratic Rights

The arrest and detainment of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil by Immigration and Customs Enforcement garnered national attention.

Last week, the video of the arrest of a Turkish PhD student at Tufts University, Rumeysa Ozturk, by masked federal agents received similar attention.

In addition to Ozturk and Khalil, nearly a dozen international students and faculty at universities across the country have been detained for possible deportation as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on those who've voiced pro-Palestinian views.

The arrests have raised questions — not just about the rights of immigrants with legal status in the U.S. — but about the right to dissent, regardless of citizenship, under the Trump administration.

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