A federal judge moved the case of Rumeysa Özturk, a Tufts University graduate student, to a Vermont jurisdiction following a Justice Department request to place her in Louisiana.
Özturk was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Boston suburb of Somerville, Massachusetts, on March 25 and has been held in an immigration detention facility in Louisiana.
“The government asserts that this Court lacks jurisdiction over the Petition as Özturk, unknown to anyone but the government, was in Vermont, not Massachusetts at the time the Petition was filed and, as of 2:35 p.m. on March 26, 2025, was in Louisiana, where she remains,” U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper for Massachusetts wrote in her order.
The Obama appointee said her order blocking Özturk from being deported should be upheld unless the court in which she is being transferred objects.
Özturk is among many pro-Palestinian protesters who have been arrested by immigration officials or had their visas and green cards revoked. Palestinian activist and Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil had his visa and green card revoked and was arrested by immigration officials. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, said Khalil’s arrest was “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism.”
More than two dozen Democratic lawmakers previously sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over Özturk’s arrest.
“The rationale for this arrest appears to be this student’s expression of her political views,” the members wrote. “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.”
Özturk’s attorneys have called for her to be removed from custody and returned to Massachusetts, citing that her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process. “Today’s ruling brings us one step closer to restoring Rumeysa Özturk’s rights, and sends a clear message that the government cannot manipulate jurisdiction in order to target human rights defenders, in violation of their First Amendment rights,” Özturk’s attorney Mahsa Khanbabai said in a statement.
ICE DEPORTS PREVIOUSLY REMOVED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WITH ‘EGREGIOUS’ CRIME RECORDS
“Let’s be clear: Rumeysa should never have been arrested or detained by ICE in the first place. What matters most right now is our continued fight to ensure her immediate release and safe return home,” Khanbabai added.
A DHS spokesperson said last week that investigations found that Özturk supported the terrorist group Hamas.
