A federal judge in Vermont denied a request on Monday to release Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk, who was arrested by ICE agents in March and is being held in a Louisiana jail. Judge William K. Sessions III must first determine if he has jurisdiction over Öztürk’s case before considering her request for bail. Öztürk’s lawyers argued that the court has the power to release her, but the government believes the case should be decided in immigration court.
Öztürk, a Turkish national and Fulbright scholar, was arrested after her student visa was quietly revoked by the Trump administration. She was swarmed by masked ICE agents outside her apartment in Somerville and transported to Louisiana without warning. Her lawyers claim that she was targeted for taking a pro-Palestinian stance on her campus, which they argue is a violation of her First Amendment rights.
The case was transferred to federal court in Vermont after a judge in Boston denied the government’s request to dismiss it. Öztürk’s detention has sparked outrage and condemnation from public officials, religious leaders, immigrant advocates, and students in Massachusetts. More than 100 rabbis signed a letter calling for her release and criticizing the Trump administration’s actions.
Protests have been held in support of Öztürk, with demonstrators rallying outside the JFK Building in Boston last week. The Trump administration’s crackdown on non-citizen pro-Palestinian activists is part of a wider effort to target elite universities. Öztürk’s lawyers are fighting to challenge her detention and the revocation of her visa, while urging for her release so she can return home and resume her studies.
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