Judge not waiting for transfer of Tufts University student detained by ICE to hold bail hearing

Published: Friday, May 9, 2025 at 11:03 am

**Tufts Student's Bail Hearing Set Despite ICE Transfer Delay**

A federal judge in Vermont is moving forward with a bail hearing for Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, despite her ongoing detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Ozturk, 30, was arrested over six weeks ago in a Boston suburb and is currently held in a Louisiana immigration detention center. The hearing, scheduled for Friday, will be conducted remotely.

Ozturk's lawyers argue her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process, and are demanding her release. They contend her arrest and subsequent transfer across state lines were mishandled. The U.S. Justice Department, however, maintains that an immigration court in Louisiana has jurisdiction over her case.

U.S. District Judge William Sessions initially ordered Ozturk's transfer to Vermont, where she was last held before being moved to Louisiana. While the government requested a delay, a federal appeals court upheld the judge's decision, mandating her transfer to Vermont by May 14th. Judge Sessions, however, has decided not to wait for the transfer to proceed with the bail hearing.

The circumstances surrounding Ozturk's detention are complex. Her student visa was revoked days before her arrest, a fact her lawyers claim she was unaware of. The State Department cited her actions, including co-authoring an op-ed in *The Tufts Daily* criticizing the university's response to student activists advocating for Palestinian rights, as potentially undermining U.S. foreign policy. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson also alleged, without providing evidence, that Ozturk supported Hamas, a designated terrorist group. The op-ed, which Ozturk co-authored, found common cause with an organization that was later temporarily banned from campus.

Keywords: Rumeysa Ozturk, Tufts University, ICE, immigration detention, bail hearing, Vermont, Turkish student, free speech, due process, visa revocation, Hamas, Palestinian rights, The Tufts Daily, Boston, Louisiana, U.S. Justice Department, Judge William Sessions, student visa, immigration court, detention, arrest, op-ed, foreign policy, terrorist group.

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