The Tufts University graduate student detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Somerville, Massachusetts, this week is now being held in Louisiana, according to a statement from university President Sunil Kumar.
ICE confirmed Rumeysa Ozturk’s detention to Fox News on Wednesday. She is originally from Turkey.
“We have recently learned and verified that Rumeysa Öztürk, the student who was detained by federal immigration authorities yesterday, is currently being held in Louisiana,” Kumar said in a Thursday morning statement. “We recognize how frightening and distressing this situation is for her, her loved ones, and the larger community here at Tufts, especially our international students, staff, and faculty who may be feeling vulnerable or unsettled by these events.”
He added that the “footage of Rumeysa’s arrest” released Wednesday “is disturbing.”
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“We stand with our Muslim students, especially during their observance of Ramadan, as we recognize that Rumeysa was on her way to an Iftar gathering with friends at the Interfaith Center when she was detained,” Kumar said.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell also criticized the arrest on Wednesday.
“The footage of Rumeysa Ozturk’s arrest – a student here legally – is disturbing,” Campbell said in a statement. “Based on what we now know, it is alarming that the federal administration chose to ambush and detain her, apparently targeting a law-abiding individual because of her political views. This isn’t public safety, it’s intimidation that will, and should, be closely scrutinized in court. My office is closely monitoring this matter as it develops.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News on Wednesday that Ozturk was “granted the privilege to be in this country on a visa.”
“DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans,” the spokesperson said. “A visa is a privilege not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security.”
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The legal team representing Ozturk told Fox News she had a valid F-1 visa status prior to her arrest. They also said no charges have been filed against their client and are demanding her release.
“Rumeysa was heading to meet with friends to break her Ramadan fast on the evening of March 25th when she was detained near her home in Somerville, MA by DHS agents,” Khanbabai Immigration Law told Fox News in a statement on Wednesday. “We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of.”
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On Tuesday night, U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani granted a habeas petition from Ozturk’s lawyers requesting she not be removed out of the District of Massachusetts.
The lawyers say no charges have been filed against her at this time and demand her release. The legal teams say Ozturk has not been disciplined for any involvement in campus protests but would not say if she has participated in pro-Palestinian campus protests.
“We hope Rumeysa will be released immediately. Those who wish to support Rumeysa are welcome to attend a rally this evening in Somerville,” the Wednesday statement continued.
Kumar said Tufts is in communication “with local, state, and federal elected officials and hope that Rumeysa is provided the opportunity to avail herself of her due process rights.”
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“The university is actively working to support the Tufts community as it mobilizes its collective resources and contacts to ensure our students’ safety and well-being,” the university president said.
In March of last year, Ozturk co-authored an op-ed in the Tufts Daily, a student newspaper, taking issue with the university’s response to several resolutions passed by the Tufts Community Union Senate on March 4, 2024, “demanding that the University acknowledge the Palestinian genocide, apologize for University President Sunil Kumar’s statements, disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.”
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Ozturk was a medical graduate student at the Tufts University Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development.
President Donald Trump on Jan. 30 signed an executive order to cancel the student visas of Hamas sympathizers on college campuses.
Executive Order 13899 aims to combat the “unprecedented wave of vile anti-Semitic discrimination, vandalism, and violence against our citizens, especially in our schools and on our campuses,” since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, sparking the beginning of a 15-month war that has left tens of thousands of people dead.
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“To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you,” the president said in a Jan. 30 fact sheet on the executive order. “I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
Hamas is a designated terrorist organization that the Department of National Intelligence describes as “the largest and most capable militant group in the Palestinian territories and one of the territories’ two major political parties.”
The Trump administration has also rescinded federal grants from Columbia University over its alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus.
“We realize that tonight’s news will be distressing to some members of our community, particularly the members of our international community,” Kumar said in his statement. “We will continue to provide information, support, and resources in the days ahead as more details become available to us.”
The cost of attendance at Tufts, before financial aid, is listed as between $80,000 and $90,000 on the university’s website.
Tufts is receiving $115.2 million in funds from the National Institutes of Health as of fiscal year 2025, the university’s website says, including $88.3 million in direct costs and $26.9 million in facilities and administrative costs.
Fox News’ Andrew Fone contributed to this report.
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