US judge halts deportation of Turkish student at Tufts University

WASHINGTON – A US federal judge in Massachusetts ordered on March 28 that a Tufts University Turkish student – who voiced support for Palestinians in Israel’s war in Gaza and was detained by federal immigration officials this week – should not be deported for now.

Ms Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was taken into custody by the US immigration authorities near her Massachusetts home, according to a video that went viral showing the arrest by the masked federal agents. US officials revoked her visa.

“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,” said the March 28 order in the US District Court for the district of Massachusetts.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has accused Ms Ozturk, without providing evidence, of “engaging in activities in support of Hamas”, a group which the US government categorises as a “foreign terrorist organisation”.

The DHS had no immediate comment on the ruling, which was welcomed by the Turkish student’s lawyers.

Ms Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar and student in Tufts’ doctoral programme for child study and human development, was on an F-1 visa.

In 2024, she co-authored an opinion piece criticising Tufts’ response to calls to divest from companies with ties to Israel and to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide”.

Her lawyers call her detention unlawful.

US President Donald Trump has

pledged to deport foreign pro-Palestinian protesters

and has accused them of supporting Hamas, being anti-Semitic, and posing foreign policy hurdles.

Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration conflates their criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism and support for Hamas.

Several students and protesters have had their visas revoked

by the Trump administration, which says it may have revoked more than 300 visas. REUTERS