Tufts PhD student on visa arrested by immigration authorities, school says
Rumeysa Ozturk is a Turkish national, according to her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai.ByLuke Barr
March 26, 2025, 11:12
Video of moment Tufts University student detained by immigration officialsA Tufts University PhD student on a visa was arrested by immigration authorities outside of Boston on Tuesday night, according to the school and the student's lawyer.
A Tufts University PhD student on a visa was arrested by immigration authorities outside of Boston on Tuesday night, according to the school and the student's lawyer.
The student, Rumeysa Ozturk, is a Turkish national, according to her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai.
"Rumeysa Ozturk is a Turkish national who was maintaining valid F-1 status as a PhD student at Tufts University," Khanbabai said in a statement. "Rumeysa was heading to meet with friends to break her Ramadan fast on the evening of March 25th when she was detained near her home in Somerville, MA by DHS agents."
https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-dec...udent-disciplinary-records/story?id=120128938
"No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of. I filed a habeas petition requesting that she not be moved out of the District of MA which was granted by Judge [Indira] Talwani last night," according to her lawyer.
In a statement to ABC News, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said: "Rumeysa Ozturk is a Turkish national and Tufts University graduate student, granted the privilege to be in this country on a visa. DHS and ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans. A visa is a privilege not a right. Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security."
Tufts PhD student taken into federal custody, lawyer and university say
The university received reports that an international graduate student was taken into custody from an off-campus apartment Tuesday night, President Sunil Kumar wrote in a letter to the school community.
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