Attorneys Fight for Release of Detained Tufts Student Rumeysa Ozturk

On Monday, April 14, lawyers representing Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish national and Tufts University PhD candidate, will appear in a Vermont federal court to demand her release from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Basile, Louisiana. Ozturk was detained on March 25 in Somerville, Massachusetts, in a dramatic arrest captured on surveillance video, showing six plainclothes ICE agents approaching her as she left to break her Ramadan fast. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims Ozturk "engaged in activities in support of Hamas," a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, but has provided no public evidence to substantiate the accusation.

Ozturk's legal team, supported by the ACLU of Massachusetts, argues that her detention is unlawful and violates her constitutional rights to free speech and due process. They point to a 2024 op-ed she co-authored in The Tufts Daily, criticizing the war in Gaza and calling for Tufts to divest from Israel, as the likely basis for her targeting. "Efforts to target me because of my op-ed will not deter me from my commitment to advocate for the rights of youth and children," Ozturk said in a statement shared by the ACLU. Her attorneys assert that her visa revocation and arrest reflect a broader campaign against pro-Palestinian activists on U.S. campuses.

The case has been mired in jurisdictional disputes. After her arrest, Ozturk was swiftly moved from Massachusetts to New Hampshire, Vermont, and then Louisiana, despite a federal judge's order prohibiting her transfer out of Massachusetts without notice. Her lawyers were unaware of her whereabouts for over 24 hours, raising concerns about transparency. On April 4, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper ruled that Vermont, where Ozturk was held overnight, is the appropriate venue for her case, rejecting the government's push to move it to Louisiana. A Vermont hearing on April 14 will determine whether the court has jurisdiction and if Ozturk should be released pending further proceedings.

Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar pursuing a doctorate in child study and human development, has faced harsh conditions in detention. She reported multiple asthma attacks, inadequate medical care, and religious discrimination, including an incident where a nurse forcibly removed her hijab. "I was sure they were going to kill me," she wrote of her arrest, describing the fear induced by masked agents. Community outrage has fueled protests in Somerville and Boston, with supporters, including Tufts faculty and Massachusetts lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, demanding her release and visa restoration.

The government maintains that Ozturk's transfer to Louisiana was due to a lack of detention space in New England and that her visa was revoked lawfully. However, critics, including Somerville's mayor and Tufts President Sunil Kumar, argue that her detention undermines academic freedom and targets lawful expression. As the April 14 hearing looms, Ozturk's case underscores tensions over immigration policy, free speech, and the treatment of international students in the U.S.