On March 25, 2025, Rümeysa Öztürk, a PhD student at Tufts University, was grabbed, arrested, and detained in Somerville by plainclothes federal agents in apparent retaliation for an op-ed she co-authored in a student newspaper. Ms. Öztürk is a former Fulbright scholar who came to the United States on a student visa.  

Her attorney immediately filed a habeas petition, and a judge ordered Ms. Öztürk not to be removed from Massachusetts without prior notice. For nearly 24 hours, Ms. Öztürk’s attorney was unable to locate her. On March 26, government counsel informed her that Ms. Öztürk had been transferred to Louisiana – over 1,300 miles from her community. 
 
The ACLU, the ACLU of Massachusetts, and CLEAR joined her legal team on March 28, alongside attorney Mahsa Khanbabai. 

Attorney(s)

Jessie Rossman, Adriana Lafaille, Rachel Davidson, Julian Bava (ACLU of Massachusetts); Mahsa Khanbabai; CUNY CLEAR

Partner Organizations

Brian Hauss, Esha Bhandari, Brett Max Kaufman, Noor Zafar, Sidra Mahfooz (American Civil Liberties Union)

Date filed

March 28, 2025