Norah Beckwith | Executive Editor | nbeckwith@mail.smcvt.edu
Rümeysa Öztürk, a PhD student at Tufts University in Boston, was arrested byplainclothes officers on the streets of Sommerville, Mass. on March 25, 2025. Video footage of the arrest shows Öztürk being pushed into a black SUV by six ICE agents where she was taken to Methuen, Mass. then Lebanon, N.H., before spending the night in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention cell in St. Albans, Vt., just 22 miles from St. Michael’s College. This information comes from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of both Mass. and Vt.
Öztürk is a Fulbright scholar studying in the United States on an F1 student visa. The ACLU states in an article published on April 12 that “According to all available evidence, the government inflicted this ordeal on Ms. Öztürk solely because of an op-ed that she wrote for a student newspaper last spring regarding the university’s response to activism on campus.”
Öztürk’s case has garnered muchattention, locally and nationally, even internationally with Turkish newspapers reporting on her detention. As more and more headlines come out detailing ICE detentions or visas being revoked for international students, many immigrants and non-immigrants alike are wondering what they need to know about their rights during this time of uncertainty.
“I think it’s safe to say that what’s happening now has not been happening in recent years,” said Gretchen Galbraith, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. She said immigration law experts have been anticipating these deportations would happen, because the current administration has been clear from the beginning that mass deportations would be a part of a second Trump presidency. “I do thinkwhat’s taking people by surprise is the way it’s affecting people who are documented,” Galbraith said. This is a reference to people like Öztürk, who despite having valid documentation are facing deportation without due process.
Traci Griffith, a former professor at St. Michael’s in media studies and journalism, currently serves as the director of the Racial Justice Program for the ACLU of Mass. According to Griffith, the ACLU is actively fighting against mass deportations and continues to advocate for the rights of immigrants. “The main issue that we are addressing is an unconstitutional lack of due process in the deportation proceedings,” she said.
Galbraith emphasized the unprecedented nature of the political and legal climate for colleges and their students. “We’re in a massive gray area,” she said. “There are precedents, but the same precedents that you used to kind of take for granted are no longer. I think that’s what we’re all really struggling with.”
In these uncertain times, Galbraith emphasizes the importance of educating yourself, paying attention to the news and learning what rights you have in regards to immigration and customs. “For example, the library has a lot of really great, validated resources about knowing what our rights are.”
The library currently has a display of resources available for students to better understand their rights. “The idea came from Fletcher Free Library in downtown Burlington,” said Laura Crain, director of library and information services. “They, I believe, posted on their Instagram a picture of the same display. So, I got in touch with them because I wanted to have something like it.” If you are curious about what your rights are in regard to ICE, there are cards available that detail some of the basic information you should know.
“I think certainly our students, our international students, have a wonderful resource in our Office of International Student Services, somebody who has great expertise on visas,” Galbraith said, as international students may have different needs than domestic students.
Regardless of your citizenship or immigration status, everyone in the United States has certain rights. Per the ACLU website, you have the right to remain silent and do not have to discuss your immigration status with ICE officers. If an Immigration officer asks to search you, you have the right to say no. ICE does not have the right to enter private spaces such as your house (including campus housing), or classrooms without a warrant signed by a judge.
If you believe you are witnessing an unjust arrest or detention, you have the right to record the incident. “In terms of First Amendment rights, if you are in a public space, you certainly have the ability to record,” Griffith said. “The reality is, that’s something that is important in this day and age.”
While you are allowed to record or photograph interactions with ICE, you are not permitted to interfere in any way. If you or someone you know is interacting with ICE there are a few things you should do to mitigate risk to yourself. According to the ACLU, remain calm, “Don’t run, argue, resist, or obstruct the officer, even if you believe your rights are being violated. Keep your hands where police can see them.”
There have been a number of ongoing conversations between St. Michael’s faculty and staff centered around mutual education, Galbraith said. “One of the things that we’re educating ourselves on is that when there is a visit to campus, there is a procedure that should be followed, including making sure that there’s a warrant that’s signed and all of that.”
If you believe your rights have been violated, the ACLU recommends you write down everything you remember from the incident, photograph any injuries you may have sustained and “File a written complaint with the agency’s internal affairs division or civilian complaint board.”
“We want to make sure that we recognize that these rights do exist, and these rights are enshrined in our Constitution, right, founding document of our, of our entire nation.” Griffith said, reassuring people who may feel overly pessimistic. “There are some really amazing, intelligent folks that are working on these issues, right? We’re not going to go quietly, and let desolation take over like this. We fight for our constitutional rights. That’s what we do, and so that’s what we’ll continue to do.”