Last Tuesday it was Rumeysa Ozturk. Who will it be next?

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These elements of the Constitution project a humane vision of democracy.
We lose this vision when we allow the federal administration to divide us into separate categories of citizens and noncitizens. Rumeysa Ozturk,
the Tufts graduate student who was swept off a Somerville street by masked plainclothes agents and then detained out of state, was a documented legal resident until her legal status was suddenly revoked without legal process. Now every noncitizen is at risk of having their legal status suddenly revoked. Once that is allowed, citizens will be next. Our silence is acceptance.
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John L. Hodge
Jamaica Plain
ICE arrest has all the trappings of the Stasi of East Germany
The secret police of East Germany, the Stasi, used spies, collaborators, kidnappings, violence, and fear to infiltrate every institution of society and daily life, including personal and family relationships.
In its editorial 'The chilling arrest of Rumeysa Ozturk, and the damage done,' the Globe worries about the loss of brain power in the country when international students are suddenly arrested and dragged off. I worry about the Stasi-like kidnap-style detentions and the defiance of due process of the Trump administration, which could result in any one of us finding ourselves handcuffed and leg chained in an airplane headed to a place of no return.
Karyn Rose
North Billerica
'I am a Zionist. And I condemn' the attack on Ozturk's rights
I am a Zionist: I believe in the right of the Jewish people to a homeland where we can self-determine, and that homeland is Israel. I'm also a student at Tufts University. And I strongly condemn what was essentially a kidnapping by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement of Rumeysa Ozturk, the Tufts doctoral student who was on her way to an Iftar dinner Tuesday evening when agents suddenly swarmed her and led her away in handcuffs.
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Ozturk was
activism took the form of campus protests and journalism, and she is nonviolent and here legally on a student visa.
Canary Mission does not act in my name. While I find Ozturk's views objectionable, I will forever defend her right to express them. What is happening to her is unconscionable and unconstitutional. This is a matter of basic human rights and the First Amendment. We must not allow people to be picked off the streets for having shared their views.
As a Jewish person, my values call me to speak up when I see others being mistreated. I implore my fellow Zionist Jews to stand against ICE and fascism everywhere. If we apply the lessons of the Holocaust only to our own group, we have learned nothing.
Zoey Howe
Medford
Not free to protest? In America?
Almost 55 years ago, I was a senior at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. In October 1969 a nationwide demonstration against the Vietnam War was scheduled, and there was to be a march in Salt Lake City, just up the road from campus. In spite of the BYU administration's warnings that any student who participated in the march could face expulsion, I joined a handful of fellow students in the protest. Our presence at the march (fewer than 10 of us out of a student body of about 25,000) and the 'risks' we were taking were deemed remarkable enough that we were ushered to the podium and cheered for our 'bravery.' As frightened and exposed as I felt that day, I never heard a word from either then-president Richard Nixon or BYU about any of it.
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That came to mind this week as I read about the arrest in Somerville and detention out of state of Rumeysa Ozturk. As I write this, she remains held in Louisiana, her visa revoked, her freedom taken, and her future very much in jeopardy — all for publicly disagreeing with the policies of the United States and its allies.
Some have asked whether Donald Trump is worse than Nixon. Whatever the answer, what is clear is that the Republican Party that helped to dethrone Nixon in 1974 no longer exists. It has been replaced by a gang of spineless acolytes willing to sit by and watch people like Ozturk be grabbed from a street in America and taken away in an unmarked SUV for simply exercising her right of free speech.
Michael Knosp
Melrose
Trump keeps seeing what he can get away with
Masked plainclothes agents handcuff and whisk a person off the street into an unmarked vehicle and transport her to a distant detention facility. It appears that they did not tell her why they were apprehending her. How is this not the action of a Gestapo? I fear that these incidents are the administration testing the waters to see what it can get away with.
What would the agents have done if the person ran?
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Brian Huckins
Northborough

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US boosts emergency Middle East evacuations and travel warnings after Trump orders strikes in Iran

WASHINGTON — The State Department has doubled the number of emergency evacuation flights it is providing for American citizens wishing to leave Israel, ordered the departure of nonessential staff from the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and is stepping up travel warnings around the Middle East amid concerns Iran will retaliate against U.S. interests in the region. In internal and public notices, the department over the weekend significantly ramped up its cautionary advice to Americans in the Mideast. In a notice on Sunday, after American strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, the department said it had ordered nonessential personnel and the families of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut to leave Lebanon 'due to the volatile and unpredictable security situation in the region.' The notice made no mention of any potential evacuation flights or other assistance for private Americans wanting to leave Lebanon but said those who want to should try to use existing commercial services to depart. At the same time, the department issued warnings to U.S. citizens in Saudi Arabia and Turkey to take extra security precautions given the uncertainty. 'Given reports of regional hostilities, the U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia has advised its personnel to exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to any military installations in the region,' the department said in its notice for Saudi Arabia. In Turkey, the department said U.S. personnel 'have been cautioned to maintain a low profile and instructed to avoid personal travel to the U.S. Consulate Adana consular district,' which includes the NATO airbase at Incirlik. 'Negative sentiment toward U.S. foreign policy may prompt actions against U.S. or Western interests in Turkey,' the statement said. Late Saturday, the department said it was stepping up evacuation flights for American citizens from Israel to Europe and continuing to draw down its staff at diplomatic missions in Iraq. But even before the U.S. airstrikes on Iran were made public by President Donald Trump on Saturday evening in Washington, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem had announced the start of evacuation flights for private Americans from Israel. Sixty-seven American citizens left Israel on two government flights bound for Athens, Greece on Saturday and four more evacuation flights to Athens were planned for Sunday, according to internal State Department document seen by The Associated Press. A nongovernment charter flight is scheduled to depart Israel for Rome on Monday. In addition to the flights, a cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 American citizens, including several hundred Jewish youngsters who had been visiting Israel on an organized tour, arrived in Cyprus, according to the document. It also said the evacuation of non-essential personnel at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Erbil is continuing. Those staffers had been ordered to leave even before Israel began its military operation in Iran more than a week ago. 'As part of our ongoing effort to streamline operations, additional personnel departed Iraq on June 21 and 22,' the department said. 'These departures represent a continuation of the process started on June 12.' As of Saturday, more than 7,900 Americans had asked for assistance in leaving Israel and more than 1,000 had sought help in leaving Iran, where the U.S. has no diplomatic presence, the document said. There are roughly 700,000 Americans, many of them dual U.S.-Israeli citizens, in Israel and many thousands of Americans, most of them dual in Iran. It was not clear how many Americans had successfully made it out of Iran through overland routes, although the document said more than 200 had entered neighboring Azerbaijan as of Saturday since the conflict began. After the U.S. strikes in Iran, security officers at all U.S. embassies and consulates have been instructed to conduct reviews of their post's security posture and report back to the State Department by late Sunday.

Newsweek

39 minutes ago

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Map Shows US Military Presence in Middle East as Iran Weighs Retaliation

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Following U.S. airstrikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran on Saturday night, the Islamic Republic is weighing its response, which, among other options, could include targeting American assets in the region. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday condemned the strikes, warning they would have "everlasting consequences," and said Iran reserves "all options to defend its sovereignty, interests and people." Why It Matters Tehran's reaction to the U.S. bombing and joining Israel in its war against Iran, will be critical for determining whether it leads to a major regional or international conflict. 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Over the past two decades, the U.S. military has maintained a significant presence across the Middle East, with major operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and deployments throughout the region for training, counterterrorism, and strategic support. While several countries support U.S. military operations through personnel transfers and joint activities, the U.S. also maintains larger, formal military bases in Bahrain, Djibouti and Qatar. In addition, the U.S. has bases in Turkey. In addition, there are a number of embassies in the region, notably none in Iran, Syria, and Yemen. Shahram Akbarzadeh, director of the Middle East Studies Forum of Australia's Deakin University, told Reuters following the strikes that the U.S. "has made itself a legitimate target of Iranian retaliation." Military personnel and equipment have been moving into the region over the past few days, with reports of the U.S. sending largest military aircraft in the world, C-5m Super Galaxy, to Saudi Arabia. Multiple destroyers are positioned in the nearby seas. The Pentagon declined to provide any comment to Newsweek. In this Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016 file photo, Iraqi soldiers participate in a training exercise with American and Spanish trainers, which includes live ammunition, at Basmaya base, 40 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. In this Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016 file photo, Iraqi soldiers participate in a training exercise with American and Spanish trainers, which includes live ammunition, at Basmaya base, 40 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. AP Photo/Karim Kadim What People Are Saying President Donald Trump: "Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace." He added: "Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal." Iranian Foreign Ministry on Sunday: "The war-mongering and lawless regime of the United States of America is held fully responsible for the dangerous consequences and far-reaching implications of this egregious act of aggression and heinous crime." The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI): "It is unfortunate that this action—clearly against international law—has taken place with the indifference and, in some cases, complicity of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran assures the noble Iranian nation that, despite the enemies' evil conspiracies, it will not allow the peaceful development of this national industry—born from the blood of nuclear martyrs—to be derailed." What Happens Next? Iran, led by Supreme Leader Ali Ayatollah Khamenei, must decide on the country's response, ranging from possible retaliation to negotiations. The Iranian Parliament has voted to in support of closing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical oil transit chokepoints, according to media reports. Any final decision on retaliation, however, is up to Khamenei.

Miami Herald

an hour ago

• Miami Herald

Full List of Congress Members Backing War Powers Resolution Against Trump

Representatives Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, introduced a bipartisan House resolution last week in a bid to curb President Donald Trump's ability to escalate tensions with Iran. After the U.S. military carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday, Massie told CNN that he believed the resolution would have enough co-sponsors to "be able to force a vote unless [House Speaker Mike] Johnson pulls some shenanigans." Trump on Saturday evening announced what he described as a "very successful attack" against three Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan The president's decision came after Israel and Iran have exchanged consistent strikes since June 13. Israel had urged the U.S. to target Iran's nuclear facilities, saying that Tehran was moving close to creating a nuclear weapon. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes—not for weapons. The strikes have sparked concerns from some Democrats and some Republicans about a wider war breaking out—with some lawmakers accusing the president of violating the U.S. Constitution with the strikes. Massie and Khanna introduced their War Powers Resolution in an effort to prohibit U.S. military involvement in Iran last Tuesday, amid the backdrop of escalating tensions with Iran. "The Constitution does not permit the executive branch to unilaterally commit an act of war against a sovereign nation that hasn't attacked the United States," Massie said in a press release announcing the resolution. "Congress has the sole power to declare war against Iran. The ongoing war between Israel and Iran is not our war. Even if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution." Khanna shared similar concerns in a statement emailed to Newsweek on Sunday after the strikes on Iran moved forward. "Stopping Iran from having a nuclear bomb is a top priority, but dragging the U.S. into another Middle East war is not the solution. Trump's strikes are unconstitutional and put Americans, especially our troops, at risk," the congressman said. "Congress needs to come back to DC immediately to vote on Rep. Thomas Massie and my bipartisan War Powers Resolution to ensure there is no further conflict and escalation." Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, introduced companion legislation to the House resolution the day before his House colleagues. "It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States. I am deeply concerned that the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran could quickly pull the United States into another endless conflict," the senator said in a press release. Representative Ro Khanna, a California DemocratRepresentative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky RepublicanRepresentative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York DemocratRepresentative Val Hoyle, an Oregon DemocratRepresentative Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan DemocratRepresentative Pramila Jayapal, a Washington DemocratRepresentative Donald Beyer, a Virginia DemocratRepresentative Lloyd Doggett, a Texas DemocratRepresentative Greg Casar, a Texas DemocratRepresentative Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts DemocratRepresentative Delia Ramirez, an Illinois DemocratRepresentative Summer Lee, a Pennsylvania DemocratRepresentative Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota DemocratRepresentative Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, an Illinois DemocratRepresentative Nydia Velazquez, a New York DemocratRepresentative James McGovern, a Massachusetts DemocratRepresentative Chellie Pingree, a Maine DemocratRepresentative Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin DemocratRepresentative Veronica Escobar, a Texas DemocratRepresentative Paul Tonko, a New York DemocratRepresentative Becca Balint, a Vermont DemocratRepresentative Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey DemocratRepresentative Henry "Hank" Johnson, a Georgia DemocratDelegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Washington, D.C., DemocratRepresentative Sara Jacobs, a California DemocratRepresentative Janice Schakowsky, an Illinois DemocratRepresentative Lateefah Simon, a California DemocratRepresentative Christopher Deluzio, a Pennsylvania DemocratRepresentative Gwen Moore, a Wisconsin DemocratRepresentative Mike Thompson, a California DemocratRepresentative Yassamin Ansari, an Arizona DemocratRepresentative Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi DemocratRepresentative Luis Correa, a California DemocratRepresentative Betty McCollum, a Minnesota DemocratRepresentative Marcy Kaptur, an Ohio DemocratRepresentative Mark DeSaulnier, a California DemocratRepresentative Stephen Lynch, a Massachusetts DemocratRepresentative Andre Carson, an Indiana DemocratRepresentative Mary Gay Scanlon, a Pennsylvania DemocratRepresentative Joaquin Castro, a Texas DemocratRepresentative Maxwell Frost, a Florida DemocratRepresentative Al Green, a Texas DemocratRepresentative Debbie Dingell, a Michigan DemocratRepresentative Jamie Raskin, a Maryland DemocratRepresentative Melanie Stansbury, a New Mexico DemocratRepresentative Sylvia Garcia, a Texas DemocratRepresentative Teresa Leger Fernandez, a New Mexico DemocratRepresentative Diana DeGette, a Colorado DemocratSenator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat Jennifer Kavanagh, senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities told Newsweek: "Iran has several options when it comes to retaliation, but will need to weigh them carefully. A stronger response may be useful for signaling Tehran's continuing resolve to internal and external audiences but it could also bring further U.S. military action and deeper U.S. involvement. Iran could target U.S. military bases and personnel in the Middle East." President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Saturday evening: "ANY RETALIATION BY IRAN AGAINST THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL BE MET WITH FORCE FAR GREATER THAN WHAT WAS WITNESSED TONIGHT. THANK YOU!" Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday: "The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the NPT by attacking Iran's peaceful nuclear installations. The events this morning are outrageous and will have everlasting consequences. Each and every member of the UN must be alarmed over this extremely dangerous, lawless and criminal behavior. In accordance with the UN Charter and its provisions allowing a legitimate response in self-defense, Iran reserves all options to defend its sovereignty, interest, and people." Iran's foreign minister said after the attack that his country reserves "all options to defend its sovereignty." The U.S. military is preemptively preparing for any attack from Tehran in response. It's unclear whether the War Powers Resolution sponsored by Khanna and Massie, which aims to curb Trump's ability to take military action against Iran, will move forward in the House. However, with Republican control of both chambers of Congress, it is not widely expected to succeed. Related Articles Video of Bernie Sanders Reacting to Trump's Iran Strike Live Goes ViralJD Vance Issues Warning on Trump Admin's 'Biggest Red Line' for IranPutin Ally Says Countries Now Ready to Supply Iran With Nuclear Weapons'Operation Midnight Hammer': What We Know About the Iran Strikes 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.