Opinion Today: A warning to us all
Three members of Massachusetts’s congressional delegation on the case of Rumeysa Ozturk.
Opinion Today

April 25, 2025

By David Swerdlick

Senior Staff Editor

Almost a year ago, speaking to a group of wealthy donors about international students involved in protests against the Israel-Hamas war, Donald Trump reportedly said, “One thing I do is, any student that protests, I throw them out of the country.”

As he has with so many other statements that so many voters seemed to dismiss as hyperbole, Trump appears to be trying to make good on that promise in his second term as president — due process be damned.

That, argue Senator Edward Markey, Representative Jim McGovern and Representative Ayanna Pressley in a guest essay, is what is going on in the case of Rumeysa Ozturk, a graduate student at Tufts University who had a valid student visa and was grabbed off the street last month by agents of the Department of Homeland Security and eventually taken to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana.

In the midst of the legal fight over Ozturk’s detention, these three members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation traveled to the ICE facility to speak to her. In their essay, they recount what they saw and sound the alarm about what the administration’s actions mean for Americans — not just for citizens of other countries who are visiting, studying or permanently residing in the country.

Read the guest essay:

Here’s what we’re focusing on today:

Editors’ Picks

In a photo illustration, a black-and-white image of two people in an arid landscape with several sheep. A large red bar runs vertically across the image.

Guest Essay

My Oscar for ‘No Other Land’ Didn’t Protect Me From Violence

Hamdan Ballal won an Oscar for co-directing “No Other Land,” then went home to the West Bank and was attacked and arrested.

By Hamdan Ballal

More From Opinion

A photo illustration featuring a cutout of President Trump on red carpet and in front of a red curtain, reflected in mirrors on both sides.

David Brooks

Trump’s Single Stroke of Brilliance

His initiative has been the key to much of his success, but lacking any sense of prudence, he does not understand the difference between a risk and a gamble.

By David Brooks

The Ezra Klein Show

Ross Douthat on Trump, Mysticism and Psychedelics

The Times Opinion columnist discusses religion and belief — at this moment in our politics, and in our lives more generally.

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1 HR 35 MIN LISTEN

A guard with a helmet and gun stands outside a building with a set of double doors. A sign on the wall reads “ Modulo 4 Cecot.”

Michelle Goldberg

The Trump Victim I Can’t Stop Thinking About

It’s a moral imperative to try to rescue people like Andry Hernández Romero.

By Michelle Goldberg

An animated image of a yellow thumbs-up with the words “yep,” “truth” and “right on!” shifting across it.

john mcwhorter

We Are at Peak ‘Yep’ and It’s Wonderful

If there’s one thing we can agree on, it’s that we have many ways to agree.

By John McWhorter

A color photo of pyramid-shape structures lining a desolate landscape.

Guest Essay

The Terrifying Prospect of Trump’s Peace Plan for Ukraine

Assenting to Russia’s annexation of Crimea would have global consequences.

By James Kirchick

An illustration of a parent and child caught between two large heads.

Guest Essay

Kennedy Described My Reality

I don’t care if my child with autism ever pays taxes — but I do care that she may never have the opportunity to work or live independently.

By Emily May

Why ‘Vladimir, STOP!’ Won’t Stop Vladimir

On Wednesday Trump complained about Zelensky. On Thursday, Putin. The two messages illustrate why he’s struggling to end the war.

By Serge Schmemann

A Mistake in a New York Court Exposes the Truth About Trump’s Legal Strategy

The episode of the inadvertent court filings in the New York congestion-pricing case embodies the full range of the Trump administration’s incompetence.

By David Firestone

An illustration featuring a combined pen and pencil. The pen at the bottom draws a straight line, while the pencil at the top draws a squiggle.

Guest Essay

The Things I Can Only Write in English

Writing in a second language can feel unnatural, but it presents a new way for writers to understand who they are — and how they fit into the world.

By Alex Maroño Porto

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, speaks during a news conference at a blue podium while wearing a blue suit and tie.

Pete Kiehart for The New York Times

letters

Kennedy’s Dangerous Autism Claims

Readers, including some with autism, rebut Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s statements. Also: President Trump vs. universities; Emanuel Ax’s plea.

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