A federal judge in Massachusetts has ordered the Trump administration not to remove Rumeysa Ozturk from the U.S. while the court considers her petition.
Days after a Tufts University graduate student was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Somerville, a judge in Massachusetts ordered the Trump administration not to deport her.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a student from Turkey, was transported to Louisiana after plainclothes agents apprehended her in an encounter that was caught on video. The incident has prompted concern from the Tufts community, lawmakers and advocates.
Ozturk's attorney said she maintained a valid F-1 visa, which has now been terminated.
After she was detained, the Department of Homeland Security accused Ozturk of engaging in activities supporting Hamas, saying, "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."
The government has not provided evidence or explained how Ozturk supported the group, with students believing she was targeted because of an article she wrote in the school paper, along with three classmates, calling for the school to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Responding Friday to a petition filed by Ozturk, Judge Denise Casper of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts said the government can't deport her while the court is considering the case.
"To allow the Court's resolution of its jurisdiction to decide the petition, Ozturk shall not be removed from the United States until further Order of this Court," Casper said.
Citing a ruling in another case regarding the Trump administration's efforts to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia student who protested against Israel's treatment of Palestinians, she quoted, "[t]o preserve the Court's jurisdiction pending a ruling on the petition, Petitioner shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court orders otherwise."
Casper gave respondents, including acting Director Patricia Hyde of the ICE Boston Field Office, until Tuesday to respond.
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"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," her attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai, said in a statement Friday evening. "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."
"This is a critical next step, and we will continue to work to ensure Rumeysa is returned to her friends and community in Massachusetts," ACLU of Massachusetts Legal Director Jessie Rossman said in a statement.
U.S. lawmakers are also demanding answers for Ozturk, with the state delegation leading the charge.
In a letter addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Acting ICE Director Lyons, more than two dozen members of Congress call for transparency in the case. This comes after Rubio addressed criticism of the situation on Thursday.
Rubio defended the move by ICE to detain Ozturk earlier this week.
And he said the Trump administration will continue to deny visas to those who – quote – “lie to us” and “participate in that sort of activity,” referring to protest movements on college campuses. DHS has accused Ozturk of acting in support of Hamas, though they have not specified what type of support they are claiming nor provided evidence of the allegation.
The Massachusetts delegation, along with several other members of Congress, accuse the Trump administration of targeting Ozturk instead for the op-ed she wrote with three other students, regarding the Gaza war.
They also demand a specific timeline as to when and how she was moved out of Massachusetts, since the federal government asserts she was not in the Bay State when her attorney was granted a court order to keep her here. She was taken to an ICE detention facility in Louisiana.
The letter says in part, “We are calling for full due process in this case and are seeking answers about this case and about ICE’s policy that has led to the identification and arrest of university students with valid legal status," the letter reads.
"The Administration should not summarily detain and deport legal residents of this country merely for expressing their political views. Absent compelling evidence justifying her detention and the revocation of her status, we call for Ozturk’s release and the restoration of her visa," it continues.
“We are working very closely with Tufts University and local authorities to get answers. She is not charged with a crime. The fact that she was taken off the streets and we are not exactly sure of her location, is something that should be deeply concerning to everyone who cares about our rights of free speech," U. S. Rep. Katherine Clark, D, Mass. 5th District, said.
Meanwhile, the ACLU has joined Ozturk's legal defense.
"She has not been charged with any crime," Rossman told NBC10 Boston. "Her detention does not have any legitimate basis."
“Rümeysa Öztürk’s unlawful arrest and detention is yet another escalation of this administration’s efforts to silence speech. No person, regardless of their immigration status, can be arrested, detained, or deported as punishment for their political views. Ideas – and certainly op-eds – are not illegal. The First Amendment protects all of us," Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, wrote in a media statement.
Students and community leaders continue to protest and rally support for Ozturk on and off campus.
