Judge Rejects ICE’s Venue Change in Case of Detained Tufts Student

Rumesya Ozturk, a Turkish national and doctoral student, is among several international students facing deportation because of their pro-Palestinian activism.
Judge Rejects ICE’s Venue Change in Case of Detained Tufts Student
This contributed photo shows Rumeysa Ozturk on an apple-picking trip in 2021. AP Photo
Bill Pan
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A federal judge on April 4 allowed the case of a detained Tufts University student to proceed in Vermont, denying the government’s request to transfer the case to Louisiana, where the student is currently held.

Rumesya Ozturk, a Turkish national and doctoral student, was detained by immigration officials near her home in Somerville, a suburb of Boston, on March 25. Court documents show that she was transported to New Hampshire and then Vermont within hours of her apprehension, before being flown the next day to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Louisiana.