By Janet Ekstract, NEW YORK – On Friday, U.S. District Judge William Sessions III ordered the Turkish Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Öztürk to be released immediately. Sessions ruled that Öztürk was unlawfully detained in March without sufficient evidence of any wrongdoing. As Sessions said: “That literally is the case. There is no evidence here, absent consideration of the op-ed,” adding that there has been an apparent violation of her free speech rights. The judge further stated that Öztürk made major claims of due process violations, saying “Her continued detention cannot stand.” Öztürk who was the co-author of an op-ed in the Tufts University newspaper that was critical of Israel was singled out by a far-right Jewish organization known as Canary Mission who routinely arbitrarily blacklist those who publish pro-Palestinian sentiment. The group targeted Öztürk by writing this on their website: “Rumeysa Öztürk engaged in anti-Israel activism in March 2024, in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israelis on October 7, 2023 … As of February 2025, Öztürk’s LinkedIn said she was located in the Greater Boston area, Massachusetts.” In fact, Öztürk’s co-authored article criticized Tufts University for not taking a stronger stance against Israel’s actions in Gaza on the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, a number of progressive Jewish groups and synagogues had defended Öztürk’s right to free speech, citing that her detention violated her constitutional rights. Sessions explained that Öztürk being targeted and singled out by the Trump administration could threaten the free speech of “millions and millions” of noncitizens. The ruling from Sessions only applies to her immediate confinement while expressing major doubts about the constitutionality of her detention and deportation but efforts by the Trump administration to deport Öztürk are set to continue in immigration court. Sessions also revealed that besides Öztürk’s constitutional rights being violated that her detention in ICE custody posed serious exacerbation of her medically diagnosed chronic asthma. A hearing was scheduled for Öztürk on May 9 which she attended via video link from the ICE facility in Louisiana during the three-hours of proceedings. Öztürk gave testimony about her academic work researching child development at Tufts and explained how she suffered worsening health being held by ICE in custody.
In terms of Öztürk’s being remanded to Vermont by May 14 as Judge Sessions ordered, both the Justice Department and Öztürk’s attorneys suggested that Öztürk’s travel be limited to Vermont where the court challenge is pending and Massachusetts where she lives. The judge said there was no reason to impose any limits on her travel, stating: “I don’t find that she poses any risk of flight.” Sessions requested that the Justice Department notify him as soon as Öztürk is released from detention. It was Secretary of State Marco Rubio who had revoked Öztürk’s visa, claiming that her presence in the U.S. was against foreign policy interests. Öztürk’s detention was part of a flurry of similar visa terminations targeting students critical of Israel or those students that had joined pro-Palestinian protests. Though Öztürk is currently being detained in Louisiana, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on May 7 ordered her returned to Vermont by May 14.
