Rumeisa Ozturk, a graduate student from Turkey enrolled at Tufts University School of Medicine, was “detained on suspicion, but the charges were dropped,” according to sources linked to the case. It seems Ozturk participated in activities supporting Hamas, and he later left voluntarily for Turkey.
Late Thursday night, Ozturk was deported from the U.S. on a flight to Istanbul.
He had been taken into ICE custody in Somerville, Massachusetts, back in March 2025, which kicked off a legal tussle between the Trump administration and a federal judge regarding his detention.
Ozturk was in the U.S. on an F-1 student visa, but the Trump administration canceled that visa around March 21, 2025. This cancellation came amid a crackdown on student visas targeting those involved in protests related to Israel and Palestine.
In a notable development, a judge, criticizing President Trump as an “authoritarian,” halted the deportation of this pro-Palestinian campus activist.
After thirteen years committed to his research, Ozturk expressed pride in receiving his PhD and lamented the time lost due to government actions. In his statement, he mentioned that his return home was also motivated by the young people he had defended, emphasizing a desire to avoid further hostility faced in the U.S. simply for supporting Palestinian rights.
Ozturk had co-authored an op-ed published in the Tufts Daily on March 26, 2024, in which he described credible claims against Israel, including starvation and the indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians, raising serious concerns of genocide.
The authors of the piece, including Ozturk, urged the university to openly recognize the suffering of Palestinians. Secretary of State Marco Rubio specifically cited this editorial when discussing the revocation of Ozturk’s student visa after his arrest.
Rubio stated that if a student applies to study in the U.S. and admits to participating in disruptive activities like vandalism, a visa won’t be granted.
The Trump Justice Department explored the possibility of voluntary deportation for Ozturk as well. An official articulated that attending elite U.S. universities comes with a privilege, contingent on respecting American values and laws. Ozturk’s actions led to his departure as the administration aimed to deport international students engaging in anti-Semitism or illegal activities.
Following Ozturk’s arrest, he was moved through various locations before ending up in a processing facility in Louisiana. His detention spurred protests at Tufts and beyond, leading to his release on bail two months later.
The legal dispute lingered until February 9, when a Boston Immigration Judge appointed by Biden ended the deportation proceedings, ruling that DHS lacked legal grounds for expulsion.
Ozturk expressed sadness for those who had suffered injustices that went unnoticed. He stated true justice would come through speaking up against the myriad injustices surrounding immigrant treatment and other marginalized communities.
The Trump administration subsequently dismissed Judge Patel and other immigration judges. Due to the nature of Patel’s ruling as an immigration judge, the executive branch retained significant control over her tenure.
On April 9, the White House released a statement proclaiming the end of the “amnesty era” and highlighting what they described as a successful overhaul of immigration enforcement, reinforcing Trump’s commitment to stringent immigration policies.
