Tufts grad student Rumeysa Ozturk's lawyer, ACLU push for her release from 'unconstitutional' ICE detention

BOSTON — The attorney for the Tufts graduate student who was grabbed off the street by ICE agents and shipped to a Louisiana facility is continuing to push for her release from the “unconstitutional” detention.

Rumeysa Ozturk’s legal team, which now includes the ACLU, on Friday filed an amended habeas petition and complaint in Massachusetts federal court — challenging the pro-Palestinian international student’s detention by ICE.

Ozturk, a Ph.D. student and Fulbright Scholar from Turkey who was here on a student visa, was taken into custody Tuesday evening by Department of Homeland Security agents on the sidewalk outside her off-campus apartment in Somerville.

Ozturk in an op-ed criticized the university’s administration after the Tufts Senate passed resolutions about the “Palestinian genocide” and divesting from companies with ties to Israel. The Department of Homeland Security said she was arrested because of her alleged “support of Hamas,” but has not provided further information.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday confirmed that the feds took away her student visa, claiming that she had created a “ruckus” on campus. A Tufts spokesperson said the op-ed did not violate the university’s policies, and that she’s “in good standing” at the school.

Then on Friday, her legal team in a new amended petition argued that her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process.

Her lawyers are calling on the court to order that she be immediately returned to Massachusetts and released from custody.

“Rumeysa’s arrest and detention are not a necessary or usual consequence of the revocation of a visa,” reads the federal court filing. “But like the revocation of her visa, her arrest and detention are designed to silence her, punish her for her speech, and ensure that other students will be chilled from expressing pro-Palestinian viewpoints.

“Her continued detention is therefore unlawful,” her legal team adds. “Because the government’s arrest and detention violate the First and Fifth Amendments to the United States Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, Rumeysa should be released.”

Following that filing from her legal team, a Boston federal district judge on Friday ruled that Ozturk should not be shipped out of the U.S. for the time being.

“To allow the Court’s resolution of its jurisdiction to decide the Petition, Ozturk shall not be removed from the United States until further Order of this Court,” U.S. District Judge Denise Casper wrote.

The feds have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday to respond to the amended petition and complaint.

A viral video from the Somerville arrest scene shows the 30-year-old woman being approached by masked federal agents in hoodies after she left her home. The agents handcuff her, and take her away.

After the feds detained her, Ozturk’s lawyer in Boston federal court filed a “petition for a writ of habeas corpus” against ICE and Homeland Security.

The federal district judge, Indira Talwani, ruled that the feds couldn’t ship Ozturk out of Massachusetts for at least 48 hours. But Ozturk had already been sent to Louisiana, according to the feds.

ICE’s website shows that Ozturk was being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center.

“Rumeysa Ozturk’s experience is shocking, cruel, and unconstitutional,” her attorney Mahsa Khanbabai said in a statement. “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,” her lawyer added. “The government must immediately release Rumeysa to continue her studies and rejoin her community.”

She has not been charged with any crime, her lawyer said.

Ozturk has asthma, and she suffered an asthma attack while en route to Louisiana, according to her attorney. This raises concerns about future asthma attacks.

The Trump administration has been cracking down on pro-Palestinian students, warning that they will be deported.

Earlier this month, ICE agents arrested recent Columbia University grad Mahmoud Khalil, who had previously expressed support for the rights of Palestinians. The State Department reportedly revoked his green card, and he was taken to the Louisiana detention facility.

“Rumeysa Ozturk’s unlawful arrest and detention is yet another escalation of this administration’s efforts to silence speech,” said Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “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.”

Dozens of congressional Democrats — including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Ed Markey, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, all of Massachusetts — have sent a letter to Rubio, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Director Todd Lyons about Ozturk’s detention.

“The Administration should not summarily detain and deport legal residents of this country merely for expressing their political views,” the legislators wrote. “Absent compelling evidence justifying her detention and the revocation of her status, we call for Ozturk’s release and the restoration of her visa.”

Other Bay State reps who signed the letter are Rep. Katherine Clark, Rep. Stephen Lynch, Rep. Seth Moulton, Rep. Lori Trahan, Rep. Jim McGovern and Rep. Jake Auchincloss.