Federal Judge Orders Release Turkish Tufts Student Detained Louisiana

Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, was released from a Louisiana immigration detention center following a federal judge's ruling that emphasized substantial First Amendment and due process concerns regarding her arrest. Ozturk was detained after co-authoring an opinion piece critical of Tufts University's response to the Israel-Gaza war, which federal authorities cited as the basis for revoking her student visa and arresting her, sparking widespread criticism and raising fears about suppressing free speech among non-citizens. The arrest involved masked federal agents detaining her near her Massachusetts home, and she was held for over six weeks, during which her health deteriorated due to asthma. Judge William Sessions ordered her release on her own recognizance, highlighting her commitment to completing her Ph.D. and the traumatic impact of her detention, while noting she posed no flight risk or danger to the community. Although released, Ozturk's legal battles continue, and her case has brought renewed attention to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies targeting pro-Palestinian activists on U.S. campuses. Tufts University has expressed support for her academic reintegration but was not notified prior to her arrest, underscoring tensions between federal immigration enforcement and university communities.