Appeals Court Orders ICE to Send Detained Tufts Student to Vermont
By Dan Gooding and Gabe Whisnant
Afederal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a judge's order to transfer Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, from an immigration detention center in Louisiana back to New England.
The ruling by a panel of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York followed arguments presented Tuesday by attorneys representing Ozturk and the U.S. Justice Department. Ozturk, who has been in custody for six weeks, must now be moved to ICE custody in Vermont no later than May 14.
Why It Matters
Ozturk is one of a number of pro-Palestinian college students targeted by the Trump administration on the basis that they allegedly support Hamas. Multiple legal challenges have been launched, with plaintiffs arguing unfair detention and a lack of evidence from the government on the claims it is making.
Rumeysa Ozturk
Hundreds of people gather in Somerville, Massachusetts, on March 26, 2025, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University who was arrested by federal agents. Associated Press
What To Know
The case centers on whether Ozturk's constitutional rights were violated during her detention. A district court judge in Vermont had previously ordered her return to the state for hearings on the legality of her detention, citing possible violations of her free speech and due process rights.
Ozturk was arrested by immigration agents on March 25 while walking in a Boston suburb, then transported across multiple states before being flown to a detention facility in Basile, Louisiana.
The Justice Department, which had appealed the Vermont judge's ruling, argued that her case falls under the jurisdiction of an immigration court in Louisiana. Ozturk's legal team maintains that her detention is unlawful and potentially retaliatory, pointing to her involvement in writing a 2023 op-ed in The Tufts Daily that criticized the university's response to student demands for divestment from companies linked to Israel and recognition of alleged genocide against Palestinians.
In March, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson alleged without providing evidence that Ozturk had engaged in activities supporting Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Ozturk has denied the accusation, and no formal charges have been filed related to terrorism. The hearings in Vermont will examine the basis and legality of her arrest and continued detention.
Ozturk's case was heard alongside Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student detained at his U.S. citizenship interview in Vermont. ICE released him last week, but the legal proceedings surrounding his detention and potential removal from the U.S. continue.
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The Trump administration has argued that Ozturk, Mahdawi, and other students targeted by federal agents have views contrary to U.S. foreign policy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has used a little-utilized law that allowed the revocation of visas for this reason.
What People Are Saying
Esha Bhandari, deputy director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, in a press release: "No one should be arrested and locked up for their political views. Every day that Rümeysa Öztürk remains in detention is a day too long. We're grateful the court refused the government's attempt to keep her isolated from her community and her legal counsel as she pursues her case for release."
Thomas A. Berry, director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, in an April 30 memo: "The government has not alleged that Ozturk was providing material support to terrorists, nor has it alleged that her op-ed fell into any other exception to the First Amendment (such as insurrectionary speech). If a citizen were punished for the same commentary, such punishment would be a blatant First Amendment violation. Ms. Ozturk's punishment is no different."
What Happens Next
Ozturk should be returned to Vermont by May 14, where her habeas case will continue to be heard.
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