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Federal immigration authorities arrested a Tufts Ph.D. student Tuesday as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing attempts to deport pro-Palestinian activists, The Boston Globe reported.
The student, Rumeysa Ozturk, is a Turkish national in the U.S. on a student visa. Her attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai, told The Boston Globe she isn’t aware of any charges against her client. Ozturk co-wrote an op-ed in the student newspaper criticizing Tufts’ response to the campus pro-Palestinian movement, and her information had been posted on Canary Mission, a website that publicizes the identities of pro-Palestinian activists. Khanbabai initially didn’t know where Ozturk was taken and couldn’t contact her, the attorney said.
Federal Judge Indira Talwani ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement not to remove Ozturk from Massachusetts without prior notice, after Khanbabai filed a habeas corpus petition on Ozturk’s behalf the evening of the arrest. (The Globe reported that Ozturk was transferred to Louisiana.)
Tufts president Sunil Kumar wrote in a message to students and staff Tuesday night that the university received reports that a student was taken into custody outside an off-campus apartment and the student’s visa status had been “terminated.” He said the university is attempting to learn more about the incident.
“The university had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event, and the location where this took place is not affiliated with Tufts University,” Kumar wrote. “We realize that tonight’s news will be distressing to some members of our community, particularly the members of our international community.”
