Removal proceedings have been terminated for a Tufts University doctoral student detained by ICE agents in the Somerville neighborhood of Boston in spring 2025.
“Today, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that despite the justice system’s flaws, my case may give hope to those who have also been wronged by the U.S. government,” said Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish national studying for her Ph.D. in child development at the Boston school.
“Though the pain that I and thousands of other women wrongfully imprisoned by ICE have faced cannot be undone, it is heartening to know that some justice can prevail after all,” Öztürk said.
Öztürk was detained by plainclothes ICE agents on the streets of Somerville on March 25, 2025, after federal officials abruptly revoked her student visa, a move her attorneys say was retaliation for an opinion piece she co-authored in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
The six-week detention of the Tufts University doctoral student — who was transported through multiple states and detention centers, including Vermont and Louisiana, before lawyers could locate her — prompted national outrage and raised alarms among civil liberties groups.
Though she was ordered released on May 9, her legal battle has persisted. A federal judge ruled on Dec. 5, 2025, that immigration authorities had wrongfully terminated Öztürk’s Student and Exchange Visa Information System, or SEVIS, record and ordered it reinstated, restoring her ability to fully resume her doctoral program.
The reinstatement remains in effect, though the government appealed the decision on Feb. 6. A separate ruling was also made on Jan. 22, which found the government’s broader policy of arresting and detaining scholars like Öztürk violated the First Amendment and confirmed she was targeted solely for co-authoring an op‑ed.
“I grieve for the many human beings who do not get to see the mistreatment they have faced brought into the light,” Öztürk said.
“When we openly talk about the many injustices around us, including the treatment of immigrants and others who have been targeted and thrown in for-profit ICE prisons, as well as what is happening in Gaza, true justice will prevail.”
Immigration attorneys for Öztürk submitted documents in federal court on Monday to announce the removal proceedings have been terminated by an immigration judge.
“The Trump administration has weaponized our immigration system to target valued members of our communities, including scholars like Rümeysa,” said her attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai of Khanbabai Immigration Law. Khanbabai argued the administration has “manipulated immigration laws to silence people,” especially those who advocate for Palestine.
“With this ruling, Judge Patel has delivered justice for Rümeysa; now, I hope that other immigration judges will follow her lead and decline to rubber stamp the president’s cruel deportation agenda,” Khanbabai said.
Öztürk is represented by the ACLU, ACLU of Massachusetts, ACLU of Vermont, CLEAR, Emery Celli Abady Brinckerhoff Ward & Maazel LLP, Mahsa Khanbabai and Kerry Doyle.
