Turkish University Student Detained By US Immigration

US agents detained Turkish student Ozturk over pro-Palestinian activism at Tufts.
A judge blocked her removal as protests erupted against the detention.
Trump’s administration intensifies deportations, cutting university funds linked to protests.

A Turkish university student, Rumeysa Ozturk, has been detained by U.S. immigration authorities, marking the latest action against foreign students linked to pro-Palestinian activism as President Donald Trump intensifies measures against the movement.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that Ozturk, a doctoral candidate at Tufts University, was taken into custody by federal agents late Tuesday in Somerville, Massachusetts. The university’s president confirmed the development in a statement.

Following her arrest, Ozturk filed a motion challenging the legality of her detention, prompting a judge to issue an order preventing her removal from Massachusetts.

However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records confirmed she remained in custody as of Wednesday, though her location was not disclosed.

Ozturk had previously co-authored an article in Tufts University’s student newspaper, The Tufts Daily, in March 2024, criticizing the institution’s response to student protests over Israel’s war in Gaza.

A protest against her detention was scheduled for Wednesday night in Somerville, according to Cambridge Day.

The Trump administration has ramped up actions against foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian activism, directing immigration officers to deport demonstrators and cutting federal funding to universities at the center of such protests.

At Columbia University in New York, immigration officers detained permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil, whose legal team is currently fighting his deportation.

Another student, Yunseo Chung, was also targeted, but a judge blocked the attempt to detain him.

Additionally, a group of university professors filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts on Tuesday, arguing that the administration’s crackdown on foreign academics is unlawful.

The lawsuit claims the policy infringes on U.S. citizens’ rights to engage with their non-citizen students and colleagues.

Meanwhile, the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers have challenged Trump’s decision to cut $400 million from Columbia University’s budget, urging a New York judge to declare it unconstitutional.

Turkish University Student Detained By US Immigration

In response, Columbia University announced measures to address the administration’s concerns, including redefining anti-Semitism, implementing stricter protest policies, and increasing oversight of certain academic departments.

However, the university stopped short of fully complying with some of the administration’s demands.

Despite the backlash, the Trump administration welcomed Columbia’s proposals, signaling continued scrutiny of universities with strong pro-Palestinian movements.