Tufts Student Released After Six Weeks in Federal Immigration Detention

Rumeysa Ozturk arrived in Boston on Saturday evening, concluding a six-week period in federal detention that sparked widespread criticism amid heightened immigration enforcement.

Her return to Massachusetts followed a federal judge’s directive from Vermont ordering her immediate release from a detention center in Louisiana.

A Turkish national and Tufts University student on a visa, Ozturk was among over a thousand international students whose visas were revoked by federal authorities, leading to deportation proceedings. These actions coincided with an intensified government campaign targeting higher education institutions under the pretext of combating antisemitism.

Ozturk had authored an opinion piece in her university’s student newspaper that critiqued the institution’s handling of pro-Palestinian activism. Her advocates assert that she was not antisemitic and contend that her detention was retaliatory, violating her First Amendment rights.

Friends and former educators expressed a mix of relief at her freedom and distress that a Fulbright scholar known for academic diligence and respect for rules had been detained.

“She is one of the most compassionate, kindhearted individuals I have encountered,” said Mehmet Fatih Uslu, a former professor. He noted that her undergraduate thesis, which examined themes of death in children’s literature, highlighted her empathetic nature.

On Friday, the federal judge emphasized that Ozturk’s detention risked suppressing the free speech of millions of non-citizens across the country. The government’s accusations, including claims of her supporting Hamas, were based solely on the pro-Palestinian essay she co-wrote, without additional evidence.