US federal judge blocks deportation of Turkish student over Palestinian advocacy

A federal judge in Massachusetts issued a temporary order preventing the deportation of Rümeysa Öztürk, 30, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, who was detained by US immigration officials after expressing support for Palestinians amidst the ongoing Israeli Occupation aggression in Gaza.

Öztürk was apprehended by masked federal agents in broad daylight near her home in Massachusetts on Tuesday, with immigration authorities subsequently revoking her visa.

On Friday, US District Court Judge Denise Casper granted the government until Tuesday evening to respond to a revised complaint submitted by Öztürk’s legal team. The judge's ruling stated, “To allow the Court’s resolution of its jurisdiction to decide the petition, Öztürk shall not be removed from the United States until further order of this court.”

Her detention follows a year after Öztürk co-authored an op-ed in Tufts’ student newspaper that criticized the university’s response to student calls for divestment from companies linked to "Israel" and for acknowledgment of what she described as the “Palestinian genocide.” Friends of Öztürk have noted that she was not actively involved in protests supporting Palestine against the Israeli Occupation.

After her arrest, a lawyer filed a lawsuit for her release, and on Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) joined her defense team. They filed a revised lawsuit claiming that her detention infringes on her rights to free speech and due process.

On Saturday, Öncü Keçeli, a spokesperson for Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that efforts to secure Öztürk’s release are ongoing, with Turkish diplomatic missions in the US providing consular and legal assistance.

“Our Houston Consul General visited our citizen in the center where she is being held in Louisiana on March 28. Our citizen’s requests and demands have been forwarded to local authorities and her lawyer,” Keçeli stated in a post on X.

ABD’de gözaltına alınan vatandaşımız Rümeysa Öztürk'ün serbest bırakılması için girişimlerimiz sürmekte; Vaşington Büyükelçiliğimiz ve ilgili Başkonsolosluklarımız tarafından her türlü konsolosluk hizmeti ve hukuki destek sunulmaktadır.

Houston Başkonsolosumuz dün (28 Mart)…

— Öncü Keçeli | Dışişleri Bakanlığı Sözcüsü (@SpoxTR_MFA) March 29, 2025

US President Donald Trump has expressed intentions to deport foreign protesters supporting Palestine, alleging, without evidence, that they are linked to Hamas, harbor anti-Semitic sentiments, and create challenges for US foreign policy.

Protesters, including members of some Jewish groups, argue that the Trump administration conflates their critiques of "Israel’s" actions in Gaza and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism and support for Hamas.

The Trump administration has reportedly revoked the visas of several students and protesters, claiming that more than 300 visas may have been canceled.