Overview

• Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, was denied bond by an immigration judge in Louisiana, who deemed her a flight risk and community danger.
• Her student visa was revoked by the State Department, citing her co-authorship of a pro-Palestinian op-ed, which her lawyers argue is protected free speech under the First Amendment.
• Öztürk has been detained since March 25, when ICE agents apprehended her in Massachusetts and transferred her through multiple states to a Louisiana facility.
• Her legal team has filed a petition with a federal judge in Vermont, seeking her transfer back to that jurisdiction and immediate release due to due process concerns and documented asthma attacks in detention.
• The case highlights broader debates over immigration enforcement, free speech, and the targeting of pro-Palestinian activists under Trump administration policies.