My colleagues and I are sounding the alarm on Trump’s unjust deportation agenda

I spent today at the ICE Detention centers where Rümeysa Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil are being unjustly detained.

I’m in Louisiana with several of my colleagues to demand answers, shine a light on this damning violation of Rümeysa and Mahmoud’s constitutional rights, and call for their immediate release.

Rümeysa Öztürk is my constituent, an accomplished scholar, and a valued member of our Massachusetts community. She was abducted in broad daylight by plainclothes agents in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Evidence suggests that ICE did not transfer Rümeysa to a Louisiana detention facility due to a lack of bed space in New England, as the government has claimed, but instead in an attempt to hand-pick the courts that will decide her case. These actions raise serious questions about the fairness and integrity of our immigration enforcement system and underscore what is at stake for all of us.

Like Rümeysa, Mahmoud Kahlil has committed no crime and is being punished by Donald Trump simply for exercising his right to free speech.

Both are being unlawfully detained in ICE facilities thousands of miles away from home, and denied the dignity, medical care, and due process they deserve. Mahmoud was denied his request to be there for his child’s birth this week. The cruelty is the point.

My colleagues and I are sounding the alarm on the Trump administration’s unjust deportation agenda. This is NOT normal, and we must keep loudly objecting to the unconstitutional treatment of immigrants at the hands of this administration. I’ll keep fighting for Rümeysa, Mahmoud, and every person who has been unjustly detained by ICE. My constituents deserve to live free from fear. Our destinies are tied.

Yours in service,

Ayanna