BURLINGTON, Vt. — A Tufts University doctoral student, Rumeysa Ozturk, detained last month by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Massachusetts, has been ordered to be transferred to Vermont for a May 1 hearing. The legal proceedings stem from her attorney’s claims that her detention was a retaliatory act linked to an op-ed criticizing the war in Gaza.
U.S. District Judge William Sessions will hear the case, with Ozturk’s legal team pushing for her release from custody. Ozturk, 30, was apprehended in Somerville, a Boston suburb, on March 25 and was subsequently relocated multiple times, eventually ending up in an ICE facility in Basile, Louisiana.
The detention followed an article Ozturk co-authored in The Tufts Daily, criticizing the university’s response to student activists and their demands regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Her lawyers argue that her arrest constitutes a violation of her constitutional rights, specifically the right to free speech and due process.
After her capture, Ozturk described a harrowing experience where she was surrounded, restrained, and her phone was taken without immediate explanation of her arrest. She was transported across state lines, exacerbating her fears of harm. Once detained, she faced crowded conditions and limited access to necessary medical care for her asthma.
Adding to the controversy, a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security alleged last month that Ozturk was involved in activities supporting Hamas, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., though no evidence was provided to substantiate these claims.
This case is part of a broader pattern involving several individuals connected to American academic institutions who have faced visa revocations or entry denials into the U.S. after participating in protests or expressing support for Palestinian causes. Similar actions were taken against Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student from Columbia University, who was deemed a national security threat by a Louisiana immigration judge.
The Justice Department has countered, suggesting that immigration courts hold jurisdiction over the case and that the legal challenge should be dismissed. Initially, Ozturk’s location was unknown to her legal team, and it was more than 24 hours before they could establish contact with her. During this period, she reportedly made several unfulfilled requests to speak with a lawyer.
Sunil Kumar, president of Tufts University, has noted that the op-ed co-authored by Ozturk did not breach university policies and confirmed that no formal complaints were lodged about the piece.
This incident raises significant questions about the intersection of free speech, academic freedom, and national security, especially in contexts involving international students and politically sensitive topics.
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