Rümeysa Öztürk, a PhD student at Tufts University, was grabbed, arrested, and detained in Somerville, Massachusetts by plainclothes federal agents this week in apparent retaliation for a Tufts Daily op-ed she co-authored last year. Ms. Öztürk is a former Fulbright scholar who came to the United States on a student visa.
Early this morning, her legal team — now including the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Massachusetts, and CLEAR, alongside attorney Mahsa Khanbabai — filed an amended habeas petition and complaint with the federal court in the District of Massachusetts, challenging her unconstitutional detention by ICE.
Attorney Khanbabai represented Ms. Öztürk in emergency filings on Tuesday, resulting in a court order that Ms. Öztürk not be removed from Massachusetts without prior notice. Sometime after that order, ICE officials transferred Ms. Öztürk to Louisiana without notifying the court, her counsel, or Department of Justice counsel. Government counsel has stated that he has been informed Ms. Öztürk was detained outside of Massachusetts at the time the original petition was filed, but has not provided evidence of her location at the time the original petition was filed, or suggested that she was not in the custody and control of ICE officials in Massachusetts. For nearly 24 hours, Ms. Öztürk’s friends, family, and counsel could not locate or contact her. When her attorney was finally able to speak with her, they learned that she had suffered an asthma attack while en route to Louisiana. Ms. Öztürk has not been charged with or accused of any crime.
When asked about Ms. Öztürk’s case, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed revoking her visa, adding, “we gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses.”
The new amended petition argues that Ms. Öztürk’s detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process. It asks the court to order that she be immediately returned to Massachusetts and released from custody.
The following are quotes from Ms. Öztürk’s legal team:
Mahsa Khanbabai, attorney at Khanbabai Immigration Law: “Rümeysa Öztürk’s experience is shocking, cruel, and unconstitutional. For nearly 24 hours, we could not locate her, and despite a court order to prevent the government from taking her out of Massachusetts, we finally learned the Trump administration had shipped her to Louisiana. Criticizing U.S. foreign policy and human rights violations is neither illegal nor grounds for detention. The government must immediately release Rümeysa to continue her studies and rejoin her community.”
Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts: “Rümeysa Öztürk’s unlawful arrest and detention is yet another escalation of this administration’s efforts to silence speech. No person, regardless of their immigration status, can be arrested, detained, or deported as punishment for their political views. Ideas – and certainly op-eds – are not illegal. The First Amendment protects all of us.”
Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts: “Grabbing someone off the streets, stripping them of their student visa, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint is an affront to all of our constitutional rights. We will not stop fighting until Ms. Öztürk is free to return to her loved ones and until we know the government will not abuse immigration law to punish those who speak up for what they believe.”
Brian Hauss, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union: “The footage of Ms. Öztürk’s abduction should send chills down the spine of every American who cares about free speech. The disappearance of students for their political beliefs is the hallmark of dictatorships and has no place in a free society.”
Mudassar Toppa, staff attorney at CLEAR, a legal nonprofit and clinic at CUNY School of Law: “What's happening to Rümeysa just because she expressed her sincerely held beliefs in support for Palestinian human rights is unconscionably cruel. No one should have to face the prospect of being stalked, abducted, and shipped off to a detention center a thousand miles away just because they exercised their first amendment rights. We will pursue all legal avenues on her behalf until she’s freed.”
