AhlulBayt News Agency – A federal judge has granted bail and ordered the immediate release of Tufts University student and pro-Palestine activist Rumeysa Ozturk from immigration detention in Louisiana, amid a nationwide crackdown on campus protests across the United States.
Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student, had been held by US immigration authorities since March 25, when plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detained her while she was walking in her Somerville, Massachusetts neighborhood.
She remained confined in a Louisiana detention center until her release was ordered on Friday.
During the bail hearing, US District Judge William Sessions ruled that Ozturk had presented strong arguments regarding constitutional violations in her case. He emphasized that her detention raised serious concerns about First Amendment freedoms and due process rights, particularly given the politically motivated revocation of her student visa under the Trump administration.
Her visa was revoked after she co-authored an op-ed in Tufts University’s student newspaper, advocating for the university to disclose its investments and divest from companies linked to Israel. A senior Department of Homeland Security official, Andre Watson, justified the action in a memo, citing her “anti-Israel activism”.
Judge Sessions, however, stated, “There is absolutely no evidence that she has engaged in violence or advocated violence. She has no criminal record. She has done nothing other than attend her university and expand her contacts within the community in a supportive way”.
Following the ruling, the Trump administration swiftly criticized the judge’s decision. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, “Lower-level judges should not be dictating the foreign policy of the United States. The president and the Department of Homeland Security are well within their legal rights to deport illegal immigrants”.
Upon her release, Ozturk was greeted by cheering supporters, including representatives from her Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
SEIU President April Verrett released a statement following the court-ordered release of Rumeysa Ozturk, declaring: “Our work is not done until everyone who calls this country home gets to live with freedom and dignity and respect.”
Ozturk, a former Columbia University student, was “ambushed” by ICE agents while heading out for dinner with friends from her off-campus apartment, according to a statement from her attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai, provided to the Boston Globe.
A dramatic video, taken by a neighbor’s surveillance camera, dated March 25, shows a plainclothes federal agent approaching Ozturk on the street, followed by several other agents surrounding her before she was taken into custody.
The US president vowed to deport activists who took part in protests on US college campuses against Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Columbia University has suspended over 65 students following a pro-Palestinian protest that had unfolded at the seat of learning’s Butler Library, a school official said on Friday.
Furthermore, a total of 33 individuals from affiliated schools have been barred from the university’s Morningside Heights campus.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Eric Lee and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Council (ADC), notes that these orders violate the First and Fifth Amendments of the US Constitution by unlawfully restricting freedom of speech.
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