BOSTON — A judge ruled on Friday afternoon that a Tufts graduate student detained by federal immigration authorities cannot be deported while her case is being decided.
Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk, a resident of Somerville with a valid F-1 student status, is being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana.
United States District Judge Denise J. Casper ruled “Ozturk shall not be removed from the United States until further Order of this Court,” due to disputes over jurisdiction in the matter.
A judge previously granted a request that Ozturk not be moved out of state but the assistant U.S. Attorney on her case claims she was already out of Massachusetts by the time the petition was filed and granted.
Ozturk’s attorneys released the following statement regarding Friday’s ruling:
“This is a first step in getting Rumeysa released and back home to Boston so she can continue her studies. But we never should have gotten here in the first place. Rumeysa’s experience is shocking, cruel, and unconstitutional. Criticizing U.S. foreign policy and human rights violations is neither illegal nor grounds for detention. For nearly 24 hours, we could not locate her, and despite a court order to prevent the government from taking her out of Massachusetts, we finally learned the Trump administration had shipped her to Louisiana. The government must immediately release Rumeysa to continue her studies and rejoin her community.”
Ozturk was arrested by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents on March 25 outside her off-campus Somerville home.
A DHS spokesperson said Ozturk was detained because she “engaged in activities in support of Hamas.”
“Rumeysa Ozturk is a Turkish national and Tufts University graduate student who was granted the privilege to be in this country on a visa. DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans,” the statement read. “A visa is a privilege, not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security.”
People who know Ozturk believe she was targeted for participating in pro-Palestine rallies on the campus of Tufts in 2024. She also wrote an op-ed demanding that Tufts acknowledge the Palestinian genocide and divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Tufts University confirms she is a PhD student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
They’re asking that the US District Court assume jurisdiction over this matter and order that Ozturk not be transferred outside the District of Massachusetts, and declare that the detention violates the due process clause of the 5th Amendment.
Students rallied on behalf of Ozturk Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Powder House Square Park.
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New England Field Office Director for ICE Patricia Hyde has until 5 p.m. on Tuesday to respond to Ozturk’s amended petition and complaint.
Boston 25 News has reached out to ICE regarding the detainment of Ozturk.
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