Why US Authorities Transfer Student Protesters Thousands of Miles After Arrest

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has come under scrutiny for transporting detained immigrant students and scholars, arrested in connection with pro-Palestine campus protests, to remote detention facilities in the southern United States. According to multiple reports, detainees have been moved thousands of miles away from their homes, legal counsel, and support systems.

High-Profile Arrests Include Students and Academics

Among those detained is Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student arrested at his New York residence on March 8. The next day, he was held in a rural Louisiana detention facility, over three hours from the nearest major city.

Professor Badar Khan Suri of Georgetown University, detained near Washington, D.C., was first transferred to Louisiana and then to a Texas jail. Similarly, Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk was picked up outside Boston and transported to a private prison in southern Louisiana within 24 hours.

ICE Cites “Logistics and Limited Space”

In response to criticism, ICE stated that the transfers were a result of logistical constraints and a lack of available detention beds near the sites of arrest. The agency emphasized that detention is “non-punitive” and is used to secure presence for immigration proceedings or deportation.

Remote Facilities Called “Black Holes” by Advocates

Civil rights organizations have criticized the transfers as inhumane and strategically isolating. With 14 of the 20 largest immigration detention centers located in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi, many of these facilities have long been condemned for their poor conditions. NPR reports some advocates referring to them as “black holes” for detainees.

Legal Experts: “Unprecedented Geographic Isolation”

Adriel D. Orozco, senior policy counsel at the American Immigration Council, noted that while such transfers are not new, the scale and distance involved in these cases is concerning.

“I have not seen such a drastic transfer system, in the sense of sending folks from the Northeast all the way down to the South,” Orozco stated, calling it indicative of a shift under what he described as “Trump 2.0”.

Wider Implications and Political Backdrop

The arrests and subsequent transfers raise broader concerns about civil liberties, especially amid growing tensions surrounding pro-Palestine activism on college campuses. While ICE maintains its actions are lawful, critics argue that the agency is undermining detainees’ access to legal representation and engaging in tactics that resemble political suppression.

With no official numbers disclosed, the full extent of such transfers remains unclear, though advocacy groups continue to track similar patterns nationwide.