Turkish student Öztürk’s deportation halted as judge throws lifeline

A federal judge in Massachusetts issued a temporary order on Friday halting the deportation of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University who voiced support for Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Öztürk, 30, was detained by U.S. immigration officials earlier this week after being arrested by masked federal agents near her Massachusetts home on Tuesday.

In this image taken from security camera video, Rumeysa Öztürk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Sommerville, Massachusetts, U.S., March 27, 2025. (AP Photo)

Her visa was subsequently revoked.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has accused Öztürk, without presenting evidence, of “engaging in activities in support of Hamas.”

Her arrest came a year after Öztürk co-authored an opinion piece in Tufts’ student newspaper criticizing the university’s response to calls by students to divest from companies with ties to Israel and to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide.”

A lawyer soon after sued to secure her release, and on Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union joined her legal defense team, filing a revised lawsuit saying her detention violates her rights to free speech and due process.

Despite a Tuesday night order requiring the Ph.D. student and Fulbright Scholar not to be moved out of Massachusetts without 48 hours’ notice, she is now in Louisiana.

In Friday’s order, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston said that to provide time to resolve whether the court retained jurisdiction over the case, she was temporarily barring Öztürk’s deportation.

She ordered the Trump administration to respond to Öztürk’s complaint by Tuesday.

Mahsa Khanbabai, a lawyer for Öztürk, called the decision “a first step in getting Rümeysa released and back home to Boston so she can continue her studies.”

The DHS had no immediate comment.

President Donald Trump has pledged to deport foreign pro-Palestinian protesters and has accused them of supporting Hamas, being antisemitic, and posing foreign policy hurdles.

Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration conflates their criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with antisemitism and support for Hamas.

Several students and protesters have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration, which says it may have revoked over 300 visas.

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