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6d ago

Judge Orders Immediate, Retroactive Restoration of Tufts Student’s SEVIS Record

The judge concluded ICE likely acted unlawfully, ordering retroactive SEVIS reinstatement with notice and hearing safeguards for any future action.

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Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk reads from a prepared statement following a court hearing outside the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
Rümeysa Öztürk, a doctoral student at Tufts University, stands in a classroom at the university’s Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study & Human Development in Medford in November.
Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk reads from a prepared statement following a court hearing outside the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)

Overview

  • Chief U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper granted a preliminary injunction requiring immediate restoration of Rümeysa Öztürk’s SEVIS record retroactive to its March termination, restoring eligibility for paid teaching and research.
  • The ruling said Öztürk is likely to succeed on claims the termination was arbitrary and contrary to law with likely First Amendment violations, citing the government’s shifting justifications.
  • The order prohibits DHS from terminating her SEVIS record again without a week’s notice to her counsel, an opportunity to be heard, and reasons authorized by law.
  • Casper found irreparable harm because the termination blocked paid roles integral to Öztürk’s doctoral training and created risk tied to a potential status gap in immigration records.
  • Öztürk was arrested by masked ICE agents in Somerville on March 25 after a State Department visa revocation and was detained 45 days in Louisiana; her broader challenge to the arrest and detention remains pending.