Updated March 26, 2025, at 19:03 PM ET
A Tufts University doctoral student has been detained by federal authorities, according to an email sent Tuesday by the school’s president. An attorney for the student identified her as Rumeysa Ozturk.
Tufts leaders said they received reports that an international graduate student was taken into custody from an off-campus apartment Tuesday night, President Sunil Kumar wrote in a letter to the school community. Kumar said the university was later told the “student’s visa status has been terminated” and was working to confirm that information.
An ICE online database shows Ozturk has been transferred to a processing facility in Louisiana.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have not responded to WBUR’s request for comment. A senior Department of Homeland spokesperson said a federal investigation found Ozturk “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization,” but did not provide any evidence to support that claim.
“A visa is a privilege not a right,” they said.
Lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai said her client is a Turkish national who had a valid F-1 student visa. Tufts did not identify the student but confirmed to WBUR that Ozturk is a PhD student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Khanbabai filed a habeas corpus petition on behalf of Ozturk in Boston federal court Tuesday night, asking a judge to order her release. In response, federal Judge Indira Talwani ordered Ozturk must not be moved out of Massachusetts without notifying the court first.
It’s not clear whether Ozturk was moved to Louisiana before or after the judge’s order.
“We hope Rumeysa will be released immediately,” Khanbabai said in a statement, adding that she did not know where Ozturk was taken after federal immigration agents stopped her and has not been able to contact her.
Khanbabai said Ozturk was on her way to break her Ramadan fast with friends when she was apprehended.
Video obtained by WBUR from a neighbor’s home security camera in Somerville appears to show federal immigration authorities placing Ozturk in custody. The footage, timestamped to Tuesday, includes audio of a bystander calling out questions to law enforcement.
Michael Matthis lives in the neighborhood and called the incident devastating. He told WBUR he did not witness the detention firsthand, but watched it unfold on his security camera footage.
“I live in Somerville, you know, we’re supposed to be a sanctuary city. We’re supposed to be a place of safety,” Matthis said. “She’s a student here on a visa. Like, why target her?”
While he said he does not know the student, it feels personal.
“I mean my wife was an international student,” said Matthis, who added she became a U.S. citizen last year.
“And she’s like thanking god, like ‘I was a citizen a year ago. If I wasn’t a citizen right now, I’d be terrified.’ ”
On Wednesday, neighbors described feeling scared — for themselves and their neighbors. Some said they’d seen vehicles stationed on that street throughout the day on Tuesday, prior to Ozturk’s arrest.
Joe Ferraro, 48, said he heard about the arrest from his parents, who live in the same house as him.
“Sounded like they were describing a kidnapping on the street,” he said.
He didn’t personally witness it, he said. A TV reporter offered to show him the footage on her phone. He watched for a few seconds, then stopped.
“Yeah, it’s too much. I don’t need to live in a place where people get plucked off the street like that, just walking around,” he said. “That’s bananas. That’s just insane.”
Tufts President Kumar said the school was not told in advance about the detainment and did not share information with authorities before the student was placed in custody. University officials are working to learn more about the incident and have no further information, according to the email.
The school said the Office of University Counsel will connect the student with outside legal resources, if requested, following university protocol.
“We realize that tonight’s news will be distressing to some members of our community, particularly the members of our international community,” wrote Kumar. “We will continue to provide information, support, and resources in the days ahead as more details become available to us.”
A year ago, Ozturk co-authored an opinion piece published in the Tufts student newspaper that criticized the university’s response to student efforts demanding the school disclose and sever its relationships with companies that held ties to Israel.
It’s unknown if federal agents chose to detain Ozturk over her activism or any protest activity. But in the absence of any explanation, community leaders expressed concern about free speech and academic freedom.
“The idea that speaking out or criticizing the university or U.S. foreign policy in Palestine would warrant this detention is not only unprecedented, it is unconstitutional,” said Somerville state Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven. “I know that my community understands that, and that we’re ready to fight to bring her home.”
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, whose district includes Tufts, called for Ozturk’s immediate release.
“We won’t stand by while the Trump Administration continues to abduct students with legal status and attack our fundamental freedoms,” she said in a statement.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Ozturk’s arrest was “the latest in an alarming pattern to stifle civil liberties.
“The Trump admin is targeting students with legal status and ripping people out of their communities without due process,” she said in a post on Bluesky. “This is an attack on our Constitution and basic freedoms — and we will push back.”
A rally in support of Ozturk is planned for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Powder House Park in Somerville. Flyers with a phone number and words that read “SEE ICE? CALL THE LUCE HOTLINE” were left on the front door of homes along the street where federal authorities appeared to have taken Ozturk into custody. Many of the leaflets also showed small handwritten messages advertising the demonstration.
WBUR has reached to the Somerville mayor’s office for comment.
The incident follows similar detentions and federal action against international students from other universities who engaged in protests over Israel’s war in Gaza. Immigration authorities arrested Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil in early March. Khalil, a prominent figure in university protest activity, is a legal permanent resident of the United States and has yet to be charged with any crime.
Another Columbia graduate student, Ranjani Srinivasan, said she fled to Canada after the Trump administration revoked her visa. Srinivasan was arrested during a protest at Columbia last year but said she was not part of the group and was swept up by police.
With additional reporting from WBUR’s Cici Yu and Walter Wuthmann
This article was originally published on WBUR.org and was shared as a part of the New England News Collaborative.
Copyright 2025 WBUR
