(MENAFN) A group of Democratic lawmakers from Congress journeyed to Louisiana on Tuesday to meet with Rumeysa Ozturk and Mahmoud Khalil, who are currently being held at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers.

The delegation harshly criticized their imprisonment, describing it as a “national disgrace” and calling for their prompt liberation.

Ozturk, a citizen of Turkey and a doctoral candidate at Tufts University, and Khalil, a Palestinian permanent resident and recent graduate of Columbia University, were separately taken into custody last month by federal officials.

Their detainment comes amid the Trump administration’s intensifying efforts to target pro-Palestinian student activists. Importantly, neither individual has been formally accused of any illegal activity.

The congressional group, spearheaded by Representative Troy Carter of Louisiana, made a visit to the ICE detention center in Jena, where Khalil is confined.

They then traveled approximately two hours south to the town of Basile to meet with Ozturk, as reported by the media.

The visiting delegation included Senator Ed Markey and Representatives Jim McGovern and Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts, along with Representative Bennie Thompson from Mississippi.

During a press briefing held after their meetings, Senator Markey stated that the detention of Khalil and Ozturk breaches fundamental constitutional protections — specifically, the First Amendment guarantee of free expression and the Fifth Amendment assurance of legal fairness.

“The Trump administration just feels it has the right to take people from across our country and put them into facilities like this. It’s a national disgrace,” he emphasized.

MENAFN23042025000045017167ID1109461396