First on CNN: Congressional delegation visits Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeysa Ozturk in Louisiana detention centers

By Gloria Pazmino, CNN

(CNN) — A delegation of congressional members traveled to Louisiana Tuesday to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk and inspect conditions at the two Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities where the two remain in custody.

It’s the first time a congressional delegation has met with Khalil or Ozturk.

Khalil, a Columbia University graduate, and Ozturk, a Tufts University PhD student, have been in ICE custody for more than a month after being arrested near their homes by federal agents.

The Democrat delegation, led by Rep. Troy Carter of Louisiana traveled to Jena, where Khalil is being held, and then two hours south to Basile, where Ozturk is detained. The group included Reps. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, Ayanna Pressley and Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Sen. Ed Markey.

The facilities were clean but “chilly” according to Carter, who said detainees complained of cold temperatures at night, making it difficult to sleep. Carter said the facilities appeared to have been cleaned prior to their visit and that conditions appeared to be “fine” while they visited.

Following the visit, lawmakers said the detainees they met with also complained about a lack of medical care, food and religious accommodations.

McGovern referred to Khalil and Ozturk as “political prisoners.”

“I really worry that this administration is ushering in a new era of McCarthyism. And unless Congress and unless the American people stand up and push back, they will succeed,” McGovern said during a press conference after the visits.

Markey accused the Trump administration of wanting to “make an example” out of Khalil and Ozturk in an effort to chill free speech. Markey also said ICE had intentionally transferred them to Louisiana for political reasons.

Through the Trump administration, ICE feels “they have a right to take people from across our country, and to put them into facilities like this here in Louisiana,” Markey said. “And why did they do that? They have done that in order to go to the single most conservative Circuit Court of Appeals in the United States of America.”

“Rümeysa Öztürk is my constituent, an accomplished scholar, and a valued member of our Massachusetts community. Like Rümeysa, Mahmoud Kahlil has committed no crime and is being punished by Donald Trump simply for exercising his right to free speech,” Pressley said in a statement to CNN prior to the visits.

The Trump administration has accused Khalil of engaging in activities in support of Hamas following his high-profile participation in protests against the Israel-Hamas war on the campus of Columbia last year. It has also accused Ozturk of being a terrorist sympathizer after she co-wrote and published an op-ed in the university newspaper, which was critical of the school’s response to the war last year.

Neither Khalil or Ozturk has been charged with a crime.

Both have sued the Trump administration in federal court and have filed multiple motions challenging the legality of their detentions.

Khalil, a US permanent legal resident who is married to a US citizen, was detained in March. On Monday, his attorneys said ICE denied Khalil a special accommodation to attend the birth of his firstborn son.

Ozturk, a Turkish national, has experienced multiple asthma attacks while in custody and has not had access to her medication, according to court documents and her attorneys. A federal judge in Vermont issued a decision last week ordering ICE to transfer her back from Louisiana to Vermont by May 1 while her case continues to play out.

Tuesday’s visit follows a series of recent trips by Washington lawmakers who have traveled to visit people who are in custody as a result of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

US Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, met Monday with Mohsen Madawi, a prominent organizer of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University who was detained during his final citizenship interview in Vermont last week.

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland traveled to El Salvador last week where he met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia. This week, four House Democrats also traveled to El Salvador seeking the release of Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident.

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