Times Opinion is using today's newsletter to stay on top of President Trump's moves, putting a spotlight on areas that Americans can't afford to turn away from. Authoritarianism's leading edge: On Tuesday, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University, was detained by federal agents; video from a security camera capturing the incident shows that the agents were in plainclothes, most of them obscuring their faces. Records from Immigration and Customs Enforcement now list someone with Ozturk's name in a facility in Louisiana; Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, said that her visa has been revoked, along with 300 other student visas; an unnamed spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security claimed that Ozturk had engaged in activities in support of Hamas, but offered no evidence. All that is publicly known is that Ozturk was an author of an opinion essay for the Tufts student newspaper criticizing the university's support for Israel. As my colleague Meher Ahmad writes, the federal government is arresting and scheduling for deportation noncitizens, regardless of their legal status, who have not been accused, let alone convicted, of any crime — potentially signaling the transformation of ICE into an extrajudicial force. The government asserts that the laws under which it is questionably claiming authority to do this allow it to circumvent the courts. But due process isn't just a bureaucratic hurdle or even just a constitutional right — it is how we can ensure that justice is actually being served. An investigative piece from Mother Jones suggests that it is not.
A Link for Levity: I found this exhibition review, by Dana Thomas, fun and interesting: "Dressing Like an Artist? There's an Art to That" Everybody makes mistakes: On Monday, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, revealed that he had been (accidentally?) included in a group chat with high-level American national security officials in which they discussed plans for strikes on Houthi forces in Yemen. (The whole incident is so ridiculous that I feel embarrassed even summarizing it.) In a guest essay, Hillary Clinton argues that the incident is "the latest in a string of self-inflicted wounds by the new administration that are squandering America's strength and threatening our national security." Also in Times Opinion, Farah Stockman makes the point that what Trump officials said in the chat was as unserious as accidentally including Goldberg; David French discusses the implications for national security and calls for the resignation of Pete Hegseth. Noah Shachtman writes that the Trump administration's incompetence is a gift to foreign spies. W.J. Hennigan explains why the Trump administration can't admit how serious this episode is; Jill Filipovic points out the hypocrisy revealed by comparing it to Clinton's email scandal.
What else I'm reading to understand this moment: "Trump Is Trying to Gain More Power Over Elections. Is His Effort Legal?" by my colleague Nick Corasaniti; "Why the Economy Isn't Working, Revisited," by Kevin Erdmann; "On (Not) Feeling the A.G.I.," by Zvi Mowshowitz; "Toffler in China," by Howard W. French. Games Here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here. Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com. If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times.
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2025/03/29
Opinion Today: The erosion of America
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Keep a civil tongue.