Palestinian student Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested Tuesday by US immigration authorities in Massachusetts.
A federal judge in Massachusetts temporarily bans the deportation of Tufts University’s doctoral students in Tufts University, expressed support for Palestinians in the Israeli war in Gaza and was detained by US immigrant staff.
Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was forced into custody by a masked federal agent in the broad daylight near a Massachusetts home on Tuesday. The immigration officer also revoked her visa.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Dennis Casper handed the government through Tuesday evening to respond to the latest complaints filed by Ozturk’s attorneys.
“To allow a resolution of the court’s jurisdiction to determine the petition, Ozturk will not be removed from the United States until further orders of this court,” the judge wrote.
Oztulk’s arrest comes a year after she co-authored an opinion piece in the Tufts Student Newspaper, criticising the university’s response to her students’ connection with Israel and calling for them to sell from companies that “recognize the Palestinian genocide.”
Friends say Oztalk is not closely involved in Palestinian protests against Israel.
The lawyers joined her legal defense team on Friday shortly after being sued to secure her release, and filed an amendment lawsuit that claimed her detention infringed her rights to free speech and legitimate processes.
On Saturday, Torkiye’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said efforts are continuing to secure the release of Ozturk, with consuls and legal support being provided by the US Turkish Foreign Relations Commission.
“Our Consul General Houston visited the citizens at the center held in Louisiana on March 28th. The citizens’ requests and requests were forwarded to the local government and her attorney,” Keseli said in a post on X.
US President Donald Trump has pledged to deport foreign pro-Palestinian protesters, and has accused Hamas of supporting him without providing evidence, being an anti-Semitic and setting up a foreign policy hurdle.
Protesters, including several Jewish groups, say the Trump administration is blending their criticism of Israel’s attacks on Gaza with their defense of Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism and support for Hamas.
Several students and protesters have revoked their visas by the Trump administration.
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