Judge Blocks Deportation of Turkish Tufts Student

An immigration judge has blocked the deportation of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University, ruling that the Department of Homeland Security failed to prove she should be removed from the United States. The decision, issued on January 29 by Judge Roopal Patel in Boston, terminated removal proceedings against Öztürk and was disclosed this week in filings to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Öztürk, who is pursuing a PhD focused on children's relationships with social media, was arrested in March 2025 while walking near her home in Somerville, Massachusetts. Video footage captured masked federal agents handcuffing her and placing her in an unmarked vehicle, an incident that drew widespread attention amid the Trump administration's efforts to target foreign-born students and activists engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy. Court documents later revealed that her student visa had been revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio shortly after she co-authored an opinion piece in the Tufts student newspaper. The article criticized the university's response to Israel's actions in Gaza and called for consideration of student resolutions on the issue.