Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Ph.D. student at Tufts University, was detained by U.S. immigration agents outside her Massachusetts home and moved to a Louisiana detention center, despite a federal judge’s order requiring prior notice before any transfer. Ozturk was taken into custody on Tuesday while heading to break her Ramadan fast. Her lawyer said she was not charged and had been denied access to her asthma medication.
The transfer sparked legal backlash, with civil liberties experts and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell condemning the arrest as politically motivated. Ozturk had co-authored a pro-Palestinian article in the Tufts Daily and was listed on a controversial website targeting students accused of anti-Israel views.
Federal officials claimed her student visa was revoked for involvement in campus protests, part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to deport foreign students participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said over 300 student visas had been revoked for “activism.”
Critics argue the detentions are retaliation for protected speech. NYU professor Burt Neuborne called it a violation of the First Amendment. Tufts urged international students to contact campus police if approached by officials.
Legal experts suspect the administration is moving cases like Ozturk’s to conservative courts, such as the Fifth Circuit, where immigration rulings tend to favor the government. Her case continues to draw national attention amid growing concerns over civil liberties and immigration policy.
