Overview

• Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national and PhD student at Tufts University, was detained by ICE agents outside her Somerville apartment on March 25, 2025.
• Her attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai, has filed a habeas petition in Massachusetts federal court seeking her release from detention.
• Tufts University confirmed the detention but stated it had no prior knowledge of the incident and did not share information with authorities.
• Community activists reported that unmarked cars surveilled Ozturk's residence for two days before her apprehension and described the detention as targeting student activists.
• Protests are set to take place in Boston, with advocates condemning the detention as an attack on civil liberties and the rights of international students.