Judge Orders Immediate Release Of Rumeysa Ozturk, Tufts Student Detained By Ice

BURLINGTON, Vermont — A federal judge Friday ordered the immediate release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Tufts University Ph.D. student whose video-recorded detention by masked federal agents drew national scrutiny amid a crackdown by the Trump administration.

U.S. District Judge William Sessions III ruled that Ozturk had been unlawfully detained in March for little more than authoring an op-ed critical of Israel in her school newspaper.

“That literally is the case. There is no evidence here … absent consideration of the op-ed,” the Clinton-appointed judge said, describing it as an apparent violation of her free speech rights. He also said Ozturk had made significant claims of due process violations. “Her continued detention cannot stand.”

Sessions said the Trump administration’s targeting of Ozturk could chill the speech of “millions and millions” of noncitizens.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio had revoked Ozturk’s visa, saying her continued presence in the United States was contrary to American foreign policy interests, part of a wave of similar visa terminations targeting students who had criticized Israel or joined pro-Palestinian protests.

Ozturk is currently detained in Louisiana, but the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ordered her returned by May 14 to Vermont, where she had been held when her attorneys filed an emergency petition for her release. Friday’s order for her immediate release comes just days after another Vermont-based federal judge, Geoffrey Crawford, ordered the release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian Columbia University student who had been active in campus protest.

Sessions’ order, while expressing severe doubts about the constitutionality of Ozturk’s detention and deportation, only applies to her immediate confinement. Efforts by the Trump administration to deport Ozturk will continue in immigration court.

The Justice Department had argued largely that Sessions had no authority to order Ozturk’s release, but made little substantive case against her bid for release from incarceration. Videos of her apprehension by ICE went viral in March, showing a group of masked, plainclothes agents surrounding her in Somerville, Massachusetts, and whisking her away in broad daylight. She has been detained since.

Sessions found that in addition to the violation of her constitutional rights, she faced significant risk in ICE custody for an exacerbation of her diagnosed chronic asthma. He asked the Justice Department to notify him as soon as she is released from detention.

Ozturk, who attended the hearing virtually from the ICE facility in Louisiana, at times appeared emotional during more than three hours of proceedings. She testified about her academic work researching child development at Tufts and shared how her health has worsened significantly since being held in custody. At one point she briefly left the hearing, citing an asthma flareup.

Dozens of protestors appeared outside the Burlington courthouse, waving Palestinian flags and signs of support.

Ozturk “probably doesn’t have a whole lot going on other than reaching out to her community in a caring and compassionate way,” Sessions said.

Both the Justice Department and Ozturk’s attorneys floated the idea that Ozturk’s travel be limited to Vermont, where the court challenge is pending, and Massachusetts, where she lives.

But the judge declined to impose any limits on her travel. “I don’t find that she poses any risk of flight,” the judge said.

Crampton reported from Burlington, Vermont. Cheney reported from Washington, D.C.