ICE detains Tufts University student amid Trump admin's campus crackdown
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained a Tufts University student in Somerville, Massachusetts, according to the agency and a statement from university President Sunil Kumar.
ICE confirmed Rumeysa Ozturk's detention to Fox News on Wednesday. She is originally from Turkey.
"We have received reports that an international graduate student was taken into custody this evening by federal authorities outside an off-campus apartment building in Somerville," Kumar said in a statement. "The university had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event, and the location where this took place is not affiliated with Tufts University."
Kumar noted that the school was told Ozturk’s visa had been terminated, and the university is looking into "whether that information is true."
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"The university has no additional information at this time about the cause or circumstances of the student’s apprehension and is attempting to learn more about the incident," Kumar said. "Following university protocol, the Office of University Counsel will assist in connecting the student to external legal resources should the individual request our assistance."
The legal team representing Ozturk told Fox News she had a valid F-1 visa status prior to her arrest. They also said no charges have been filed against their client and are demanding her release.
"Rumeysa was heading to meet with friends to break her Ramadan fast on the evening of March 25th when she was detained near her home in Somerville, MA by DHS agents," Khanbabai Immigration Law told Fox News in a statement. "We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of."
On Tuesday night, U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani granted a habeas petition from Ozturk's lawyers requesting she not be removed out of the District of Massachusetts.
The lawyers say no charges have been filed against her at this time and demand her release. The legal teams say Ozturk has not been disciplined for any involvement in campus protests but would not say if she has participated in pro-Palestinian campus protests.
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"We hope Rumeysa will be released immediately. Those who wish to support Rumeysa are welcome to attend a rally this evening in Somerville," the Wednesday statement continued.
In March of last year, Ozturk co-authored an op-ed in the Tufts Daily, a student newspaper, taking issue with the university's response to several resolutions passed by the Tufts Community Union Senate on March 4, 2024, writing, "demanding that the University acknowledge the Palestinian genocide, apologize for University President Sunil Kumar’s statements, disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel."
Ozturk was a medical graduate student at the Tufts University Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development.
President Donald Trump on Jan. 30 signed an executive order to cancel the student visas of Hamas sympathizers on college campuses.
Executive Order 13899 aims to combat the "unprecedented wave of vile anti-Semitic discrimination, vandalism, and violence against our citizens, especially in our schools and on our campuses," since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, sparking the beginning of a 15-month war that has left tens of thousands of people dead.
"To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you," the president said in a Jan. 30 fact sheet on the executive order. "I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before."
Hamas is a designated terrorist organization that the Department of National Intelligence describes as "the largest and most capable militant group in the Palestinian territories and one of the territories’ two major political parties."
The Trump administration has also rescinded federal grants from Columbia University over its alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus.
"We realize that tonight’s news will be distressing to some members of our community, particularly the members of our international community," Kumar said in his statement. "We will continue to provide information, support, and resources in the days ahead as more details become available to us."
The cost of attendance at Tufts, before financial aid, is listed as between $80,000 and $90,000 on the university's website.
Tufts is receiving $115.2 million in funds from the National Institutes of Health as of fiscal year 2025, the university's website says, including $88.3 million in direct costs and $26.9 million in facilities and administrative costs.
Fox News' Andrew Fone contributed to this report.