US court hears arguments as Trump administration seeks to deport students Rumeysa Ozturk, Mohsen Mahdawi

WASHINGTON

A federal appeals court heard arguments Tuesday in the cases of Rumeysa Ozturk and Mohsen Mahdawi, two international students who the Trump administration is seeking to deport for their support of Palestine.

No decisions were made by the panel of three judges from the 2nd Circuit US Court of Appeals in New York City following more than 80 minutes of oral arguments. The judges questioned Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign and lawyers representing the students on a variety of outstanding matters.

While no rulings were issued in either case, the judges said they would take the arguments “under advisement.”

Government lawyers are seeking to have lower court rulings overturned in both cases, including an order last week that resulted in Mahdawi’s release pending additional proceedings, and an order from a district court judge in Vermont to have Ozturk returned to the state to appear in person for hearings.

Ozturk, a former Fulbright scholar and current Tufts University PhD student, is seeking to be sent back to Vermont from the state of Louisiana, where she is being held in an immigration jail so she can mount a legal challenge to her continued detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). District Judge William Sessions set a bail hearing for May 9, at which Ozturk is expected to appear in person.

She was arrested by plainclothes ICE agents March 25 while she was walking down the street in Somerville, Massachusetts. Ozturk was then quickly shuttled between three states before being sent to an immigration prison in Louisiana.

Ozturk co-authored an op-ed last year about Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip in Tufts’ student newspaper.

Esha Bhandari, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union representing Ozturk, said Ozturk “has been held behind bars for six weeks while her health deteriorates for writing an op ed, and now that the district court is on the verge of hearing her urgent claim for release, this Friday, the government asks this court to extraordinarily intervene to block her transfer to the district, as if it is the party suffering any irreperable harm.”

“The executive branch made a specific decision to detain Ms. Ozturk that was motivated by her speech,” said Bhandari.

Mahdawi was detained in April under a rarely used legal provision allowing visa revocation for individuals deemed to pose “adverse foreign policy consequences.” He had arrived for a citizenship appointment, completed a test and pledged allegiance to the US before being taken into custody by immigration agents, he recalled during an interview Monday with CBS News.

Attorneys for both students have said they are being targeted for free speech protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

“Does the government contest that the speech in both cases was protected speech?” Circuit Judge Barrington D. Parker, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, asked Ensign, the Justice Department attorney.

“Your honor, we haven’t taken a position on that,” said Ensign.

“Help my thinking along. Take a position,” responded Parker.

“Your honor, I don’t have authority to take a position on that right now,” said Ensign.

The Justice Department is seeking to consolidate Ozturk and Mahdawi’s cases, a move rejected by their attorneys.

Ozturk and Mahdawi are two of the dozens of international students that the Trump administration has sought to deport after their involvement in anti-war protests on college campuses that erupted in response to Israel’s assault on Gaza.

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