US federal judge halts deportation of Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk

A Massachusetts federal judge blocked the deportation Friday from the US of a Turkish-born Tufts University doctoral student until further notice, pending a ruling on her habeas corpus petition.

US District Judge Denise Casper stopped the removal of Rumeysa Ozturk, ruling that the court can pause any deportation to maintain the status quo while determining if it has jurisdiction. She based her decision on existing federal precedents.

Ozturk's lawyer filed an amended petition on Thursday that challenged her removal, prompting the court to consider if there is a legal dispute on whether the court has jurisdiction to decide the case.

Ozturk's deportation, therefore, has been postponed until the court proposed a deadline of 5 p.m. local time (2200GMT) on April 1 to resolve the dispute.

Ozturk, 30, a Turkish PhD student and Fulbright scholar, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) late Tuesday near her home in Somerville, Massachusetts while heading to an iftar dinner.

Her lawyer and family said she was arrested following a campaign by Canary Mission, a pro-Israel website that blacklists pro-Palestine students and activists, stemming from an article she wrote in 2024 criticizing Israel.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the revocation of Ozturk's visa on Thursday, and defended her arrest.

"We revoked her visa," Rubio said at a news conference in Guyana, referring to Ozturk's F1 student visa. "We give you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses."

Rubio, however. did not provide evidence linking Ozturk to violence.