Judge Orders Tufts Student's Release From ICE Detention

A Vermont federal judge ordered the immediate release of Rumeysa Öztürk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, after she spent over six weeks in ICE detention following her visa revocation and arrest by masked agents near her Massachusetts home. The judge found no evidence that Öztürk posed a flight risk, danger, or had engaged in illegal activity, and determined her detention was likely retaliatory for co-authoring an op-ed critical of Tufts' response to the Gaza war. Judge William Sessions cited significant constitutional concerns, including violations of free speech and due process, and imposed no travel restrictions. Öztürk experienced deteriorating health in custody, including multiple asthma attacks. Her case has drawn national attention as part of a broader Trump administration effort to deport foreign students engaged in pro-Palestinian activism. The government failed to provide evidence of terrorism or antisemitism to justify her detention.