International Tufts Student Detained by Federal Authorities as Trump Admin Intensifies  Crackdown on Pro-Hamas Agitators 

Edited by: Fern Sidman

A graduate student enrolled at Tufts University near Boston has been detained by federal immigration authorities and had their visa revoked, the university announced in a statement on Tuesday night, according to a Reuters report that appeared on Wednesday

The student, who has not yet been publicly named, was reportedly taken into custody from an off-campus apartment building in Somerville, Massachusetts. Tufts University stated that it has no further details about the nature of the student’s immigration status or the events leading up to the arrest.

The statement from Tufts emphasized that the university was not involved in the federal enforcement action, and officials at the school appear to have been caught off guard by the detention.

Attempts by Reuters to obtain comment from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were unsuccessful as of the time of reporting. Similarly, a lawyer representing the detained student could not immediately be reached.

This incident marks the latest in a series of high-profile federal actions against international students and legal residents, many of whom have participated in pro-Hamas protests or have been active participants in the coordinated efforts of the anti-Israel movement.

As the Reuters report noted, the Trump administration has significantly ramped up immigration enforcement, with a particular focus on targeting foreign nationals participating in violent anti-Israel demonstrations or those linked to groups that are hostile to U.S. interests.

President Donald Trump and his close political ally Senator Marco Rubio have publicly pledged to deport foreign students and residents involved in pro-terror protests, accusing them of harboring support for Hamas, a group designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. government.

These actions are part of a crackdown on those who directly foment violence on college campuses with their participation in demonstrations against Israel and thusly create an atmosphere of intimidation of Jewish students.

The Tufts case is not isolated. As the Reuters report highlighted, multiple incidents have emerged over the past several weeks:

At Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil, an anti-Israel student organizer was arrested and detained after being accused by federal authorities of supporting Hamas. Khalil is challenging his detention in court, maintaining that he does not support the group.

Federal officials are also seeking to detain a Korean American student at Columbia University who is also a legal permanent resident. The student’s involvement in pro-Hamas protests was reportedly cited as the basis for the action. A court has temporarily blocked the detention, according to the Reuters report.

Earlier this month, Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a Lebanese-born doctor and assistant professor at Brown University, was denied re-entry to the United States and deported to Lebanon after U.S. authorities alleged her phone contained images deemed “sympathetic” to Hezbollah, another group designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department, as was reported by Reuters. Alawieh has denied any support for the group, stating that her reverence for its deceased leader was religious, not political.

Additional enforcement actions have reportedly affected students at Cornell University in New York and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

The wave of detentions and deportations comes at a time of intensified political activism on U.S. college campuses, particularly around the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The Reuters report noted that students—especially international ones—who participate in pro-Hamas demonstrations or are associated with violent anti-Israel activist groups may now face heightened scrutiny under Trump’s evolving immigration policy.

Civil liberties advocates and academic institutions have expressed concern that these actions could have a chilling effect on free speech, particularly for students and scholars who are in the U.S. on visas or permanent residency.

The case of the detained Tufts University graduate student remains shrouded in ambiguity, with no public details yet released regarding the specific charges or visa violations involved, the Reuters report indicated. It is also unclear whether the individual has access to legal counsel or when a hearing might be held.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to signal that it intends to expand immigration enforcement into academic spaces, particularly those that are sympathetic to pro-Hamas, pro-terror activism.