The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday explained why it had detained Tufts University student Rumesya Ozturk earlier this week.
Footage of Ozturk’s arrest went viral on social media. The incident raised questions about the Trump administration’s targeting of college students who have participated in anti-Israel protests and activities.
NEW: I’ve obtained new footage of the abduction of Tufts student Runeysa Ozturk which includes audio of her kidnappers. pic.twitter.com/gucwFxdnOi
— Daniel Boguslaw (@DRBoguslaw) March 26, 2025
Ozturk, a Turkish national, had been residing in the United States on a student visa.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated in a post on X that an investigation revealed that Ozturk had been “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.”
She further stated that “A visa is a privilege not a right” and that “Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated.”
Rumesya Ozturk is a Turkish national & Tufts University graduate student, granted the privilege to be in this country on a visa.
— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) March 26, 2025
DHS + ICE investigations found Ozturk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of… pic.twitter.com/3sBE6yO8db
However, Ozturk’s attorney told CNN that no charges have been filed against her. She is currently being held at in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Louisiana along with Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, who is facing a similar case.
Students and activists staged a protest at the school, demanding Ozturk’s release. One of the attendees told CBS News “The university campus should absolutely be a place for the free and open exchange of ideas and the fact that someone can just be disappeared into the abyss for voicing an idea is absolutely horrifying.”
Thousands held a rally to demand the release and safe return of Rumeysa Ozturk, who was disappeared by the Trump regime, one of many people that have been kidnapped nationwide. #3E pic.twitter.com/3xwfroJC1O
— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) March 27, 2025
A federal judge demanded that the government explain why Ozturk was detained, according to The Guardian.
A lawyer for a Turkish national and doctoral student at Tufts University who was detained by US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) filed an emergency motion on Thursday requesting that the government produce her after she was shipped off to Louisiana despite a previous court order that she should not be removed from Massachusetts.
At court hearing in Boston on Thursday morning, the district judge Indira Talwani initially issued an order giving the government until Friday to answer why Rumeysa Ozturk was being detained. Talwani also ordered that Ozturk not be moved outside the district of Massachusetts without 48 hours’ advance notice.
The transfer of Ozturk appeared to violate a federal court order from Tuesday, which directed the DHS and Ice to give the court 48 hours’ notice before attempting to take her out of Massachusetts.
A federal judge then ordered DHS and Ice to respond in court on Thursday morning to an emergency habeas corpus request to produce Ozturk.
DHS has not yet given evidence showing that Ozturk supported Hamas. However, she co-authored an op-ed in the school newspaper demanding that Tufts University acknowledge “the Palestinian genocide” happening in Gaza amid the war between Israel and Hamas.
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