NEW YORK – A three-judge panel heard arguments today from lawyers representing Mohsen Mahdawi and Rümeysa Öztürk, two students detained earlier this year by ICE in retaliation for their speech in support of Palestinian rights.
In both cases, the government is arguing that the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) strips district courts of their jurisdiction over habeas claims challenging unconstitutional detentions – in short, that noncitizens can ask a federal district court to intervene if they are being detained to punish and censor their speech.
“Writing is the heart of freedom of expression,” said Rümeysa Öztürk. “Unbelievably, it was my writing—a single opinion piece, published in our student newspaper—that led to my arrest and ultimately landed me in a damp, crowded, and inhumane ICE for- profit prison for 45 days this spring. Despite my experience, I remain hopeful that our world can become a gentler and more peaceful place, and I hope others who hear my story know that we all have the power to make it so. Doing so starts with speaking up about injustice when we see it. From ICE prisons where children are kept to children of war and conflict, oppression is global and connected, and so our response and compassion must be equally universal. As my case continues to move forward, I am grateful for the outpouring of support and expect to see the basic principles of our democracy prevail.”
In Mahdawi v. Trump, the court heard arguments addressing the government’s appeal of Mr. Mahdawi’s release on bail on April 30. In Öztürk v. Hyde, it heard arguments addressing the government’s appeal of an order that would have transferred her from Louisiana to Vermont, had she not been released on bail on May 9.
“I came to this country after living under Israeli apartheid, where freedom was something I had never known,” said Mohsen Mahdawi. “In America, I discovered dignity and liberty, values that shaped my faith in this nation’s promise. That is why being imprisoned on the very day I sought citizenship was not only devastating but also a profound betrayal of the principles on which this country was founded. I was jailed not for any crime but for speaking out for humanity and against the genocide of my people in Palestine.
Today, my case stands at the intersection of Palestinian freedom and the future of American democracy. It is about more than my own liberty; it is about whether everyone’s First Amendment rights will be upheld and whether this nation will remain true to its Constitution, even when speech challenges power, even when it demands justice for Palestinians living under genocide and oppression. My case has become a test for this country. Will America honor its founding values, or will it silence those who dare to speak for humanity?”
On March 25th, Ms. Öztürk, a PhD student at Tufts University studying child development, was detained by plainclothes ICE agents in Somerville, Massachusetts in retaliation for an op-ed she co-signed in the Tufts Daily. Her legal team filed a petition and complaint with the federal court in the District of Massachusetts challenging her unconstitutional detention by ICE and arguing that it violated the First and Fifth Amendments. ICE had removed Ms. Öztürk from Massachusetts to a detention facility in Louisiana without prior notice to the court or her counsel. Ms. Öztürk’s whereabouts were unknown for 24 hours following her arrest. Ms. Öztürk returned to Massachusetts after her release on bail on May 9. She spent six weeks in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana with hardly any access to fresh air and in conditions that doctors say risked exacerbating her asthma attacks.
“The First Amendment does not allow the government to weaponize immigration detention as a tool to censor speech,” said Esha Bhandari, deputy director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, who argued on behalf of Ms. Öztürk. “Habeas review must be available to someone like Ms. Öztürk, who was arrested and whisked away to a cramped detention facility halfway across the country because she wrote an opinion piece in a newspaper. The government’s arguments, if adopted, would give it unprecedented power to censor lawful speech in America.”
"From the moment a group of ICE agents abducted Ms. Öztürk in broad daylight, the government has repeatedly attempted to evade accountability and deny her due process, said Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts. "Ms. Öztürk — like every person in America, whether they are a citizen or not — has the right to express her thoughts and beliefs without fear of retaliation from the government. Her imprisonment for 45 days in a cramped detention center halfway across the country was a clear violation of her basic constitutional freedoms. We will not stop fighting until her rights have been vindicated."
Mr. Mahdawi has been a lawful permanent resident of the United States for a decade and is a long-time resident of Vermont. He is currently a graduate student at Columbia University. ICE detained Mr. Mahdawi on April 14, directly after his long-awaited naturalization interview at an immigration field office and in retaliation for his advocacy for Palestinian rights while an undergraduate at Columbia. After apprehending him, ICE attempted to put him on a plane to Louisiana, but a temporary restraining order compelled the government to keep Mr. Mahdawi in Vermont. He was released on bail in late April.
Said Michael Tan, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, who argued on behalf of Mr. Mahdawi, “No one, citizen or noncitizen, should be locked up for their political views, much less denied the opportunity to challenge their imprisonment in court. The government’s position is equal parts absurd and dangerous, and we will keep fighting until our client’s rights are vindicated.”
The cases were heard separately by Judges Debra Ann Livingston, William J. Nardini, and Steven J. Menashi.
Mr. Mahdawi is represented by Cyrus Mehta and David Isaacson of Cyrus D. Mehta Partners, PLLC; Luna Droubi and Matthew Melewski of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP; Andrew Delaney of Martin Delaney & Ricci Law Group; CLEAR; the American Civil Liberties Union; and the ACLU of Vermont.
Ms. Öztürk is represented by the ACLU, ACLU of Massachusetts, ACLU of Vermont, CLEAR, Emery Celli Abady Brinckerhoff Ward & Maazel LLP, and Mahsa Khanbabai.
