Tufts student detained after immigration officials allege support for Hamas
- Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student at Tufts University, was detained by federal immigration authorities as she was on her way to a Ramadan dinner.
- Her student visa was revoked shortly before her arrest due to allegations of engaging in activities supporting Hamas, though no evidence was presented.
- Protests in support of Ozturk raise concerns about the safety and free speech rights of international students in the U.S.
In the United States, an incident involving Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student from Turkey, has drawn attention and controversy. Ozturk was apprehended on March 25, 2025, by federal immigration officials in Somerville, Massachusetts, as she was walking to a Ramadan iftar dinner. She was later transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Central Louisiana shortly after her initial arrest, which has raised legal concerns regarding her detention and rights. A federal judge in Boston subsequently ordered that Ozturk should not be removed from the United States until further notice. Ozturk’s lawyers filed a petition asserting that her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process. They argued that she was in