Tufts scholar grabbed off the street by ICE blasts Trump administration as she returns to Turkey
April 17, 2026
Rumeysa Ozturk condemns ‘state-imposed violence and hostility’ as Homeland Security reaches settlement with Turkish PhD student
A Turkish scholar who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on a Massachusetts street last year has returned to her native Turkey after a prolonged legal battle. Dr. Rümeysa Öztürk, who recently completed her doctorate at Tufts University, departed for Turkey after she and the U.S. government reached a settlement to resolve all outstanding legal proceedings against her. Upon her return, she condemned the Trump administration for the "state-imposed violence and hostility" she endured, which began after she co-authored a student newspaper opinion piece.
Dr. Öztürk’s ordeal began in March 2025, when plainclothes ICE agents took her into custody outside her Somerville apartment. The detention, captured on surveillance video that drew widespread condemnation, followed the revocation of her student visa. The visa was canceled after she co-authored an op-ed in The Tufts Daily in March 2024 that was critical of Israel and advocated for Palestinian rights. Following her arrest, Dr. Öztürk was held for six weeks at a detention center in Louisiana before a federal judge ordered her release on bail.
The case sparked a significant legal fight and ignited protests, with critics accusing the administration of targeting a student for her political views in violation of First Amendment rights. In January 2026, an immigration judge terminated the deportation proceedings against Dr. Öztürk, ruling that the government had not proven she was removable. However, the government appealed this decision. The subsequent settlement this month ends all litigation, allowing Dr. Öztürk to leave the U.S. on her own terms. As part of the agreement, her lawful status in the U.S. during her studies was acknowledged.
Having completed her Ph.D. in child study and human development in February, Dr. Öztürk stated she was returning home to continue her career without losing more time to the hostility she experienced in the United States. In a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented her, she said, "The time stolen from me by the U.S. government belongs not just to me, but to the children and youth I have dedicated my life to advocating for." Her case became a focal point in the broader debate over free speech on college campuses and the Trump administration's policy of revoking the visas of international students involved in pro-Palestinian activism.
The resolution of Dr. Öztürk's case allows her to move forward with her academic career, but it leaves behind a contentious chapter in the relationship between government immigration enforcement and academic freedom. While the Department of Homeland Security noted it was "glad" to see her depart the country of her own volition, civil liberties advocates maintain her detention was an unconstitutional retaliation for protected speech. Dr. Öztürk has expressed solidarity with other scholars who she says live in fear for their advocacy and scholarship.
Source: independentuk