International students in Tufts University's graduate program received federal custody outside their off-campus apartment on Tuesday, according to lawyers representing the university's president and students.
Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish citizen, had a valid student visa as a doctoral student at Tufts, according to a statement from her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai. Ozturk, a Muslim, was out with a friend to quickly destroy Ramadan when he was detained by a Department of Homeland Security agent near his apartment in Somerville, Massachusetts.
“We didn't know where she was and couldn't contact her,” the lawyer said. “There has not been any claim against Rumeysa against Lumessa as we know it.”
A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, part of the department, did not immediately answer questions about the incident on Wednesday.
Tufts administrators were told that the student's visa had been completed, university president Sunil Kumar wrote an email to students, staff and faculty on Tuesday night. He said in an email that the university is “trying to see if the information is true.”
Late Tuesday, Massachusetts U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani ordered Ozturk not to move out of the state without prior written notice from the government to the court. Judge Talwani's order said Ozturk asked the judge to determine whether her detention was legal.
Ozturk's court petition was appointed as respondent Patricia Hyde. Patricia Hyde is a representative director of the Boston Field Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office and other ice officials.
Kumar wrote in an email that Tufts administrators had no prior knowledge of plans to detain students, and therefore had not shared information with federal authorities in advance.
“We recognize that tonight's news will be disastrous for some members of our community, especially for members of the international community,” Kumar wrote.
Oztulk was listed as one of the authors of an opinion essay published in Tufts Student Newspaper last March. The essay criticized university leaders for their response to the demand that Tufts “recognizes Palestinian genocide” and sold himself from a company with ties to Israel.
She is one of several students targeted for deportation by the Trump administration. Earlier this month, Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University alumnus and leader of pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations with a permanent US residency, was arrested by a federal immigration officer in New York. He has not been charged with a crime, but the Trump administration argued that it should be deported to prevent the spread of anti-Semitism.
At Tufts, the president's email reminded students of the university's “established protocols” to accommodate government agents who have arrived on campus (or off campus) for an unpublished site visit, encouraging them to call university police in such circumstances.
Tyler Koward, the lead lawyer for government affairs at the Foundation for the Foundation for the Foundation for the Rights and Expression, a free speech advocacy group, said attempts to deport students based on free speech or activism undermines America's commitment to free speech and in warning that the basis for Ozteruk's detention is unknown.
“If the ice detains Ozturk based on her manipulation or behaviorism, it is a worrying escalation in an already challenging environment for university students on student visas,” Koward said in a statement.
While studying psychology as an undergraduate at Seheer University in Istanbul, Ozruk worked closely with one of her professors, Fatima Tuba Yairashi, as she worked together as a psychology lab and student assistant. Oztzurk was interested in the development of children and how they understand concepts like death and life, the professor said.
“She's a soul-injured person,” Yaylaci said in an interview Wednesday. “She is extremely sensitive to human rights, not hurting people, diversity. She's the kind of person she wants to include everyone.”
The professor said he had never discussed Palestinians together before Ozulk received the Fulbright Scholarship and enrolled in a master's program at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he received his degree in 2020.
A few weeks ago, the professor said she had received a message from Oztzurku and asked her to delete the photo with her friend from the lab's social media accounts. Oztzurku told her she was doxxed. This means that personal information about her was posted online with malicious intent.
“This is a very difficult day for me, and it's very sad,” Yaylaci said. “I hope this problem is solved. She is an invaluable researcher for children in Türkiye and the US.”
The Canary Mission, a group that says it will fight hatred towards Jews on university campuses, posted a photo of Ozturk on its website, identifying her as a Tufts student, saying she “engaged in anti-Israel activities in March 2024.” Pro-Palestinian activists say the group is revealing their identity and targeting harassment.
President Trump signed an executive order on January 29, saying his administration will take steps to combat anti-Semitism, including on campus. The order said it would be a US policy to use “available and appropriate legal tools,” including “removing” aliens engaged in “illegal anti-Semitic harassment and violence.”
“We should not disappear on the streets of Somerville or anywhere in America,” said Jesse Rothman, the Massachusetts ACLU's legal affairs director, on Wednesday. “Everyone should be wary of what is shown in the video of Ozturk being handcuffed and taken away by an agent. The government must quickly release her to friends and communities in Massachusetts.”
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Tufts' main campus is located in Medford, Massachusetts, a small city seven miles northwest of Boston, adjacent to Somerville, where students were detained.
Anemona Hartocollis contributed the report. Kitty Bennett contributed to his research.
