A Tufts University student from Turkey, Rumeysa Ozturk, returned to Boston on Saturday after spending over six weeks in Louisiana immigration detention center amid US President Donald Trump’s campaign to deport pro-Palestinian campus activists. Ozturk was arrested by the authorities after co-writing an opinion piece, wherein she criticized her school’s response to Israel’s war in Gaza. Upon her arrival at Logan International Airport in Boston, she said she was excited to be back to her studies during a “very difficult” time. “In the last 45 days, I lost both my freedom and also my education during a crucial time for my doctoral studies. But I am so grateful for all the support, kindness and care,” Ozturk said in a press briefing with her lawyers and local Congress members, AP reported. Join us live at Logan to hear from Rümeysa Öztürk upon her long overdue return home. — Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) May 10, 2025 A federal judge ordered the release of Ozturk on Friday, pending a final decision on her claim that she was illegally detained by the Trump administration for criticizing her school’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war. The Turkish student thanked her supporters, including professors and students, who sent her letters in the detention centre and also reminded them of hundreds of other women who remained in the detention camp. “America is the greatest democracy in the world. I have faith in the American system of justice,” Ozturk said, Reuters reported. Ozturk, the 30-year-old PhD student from Turkey, was arrested on March 25 by masked individuals from the streets of the Boston suburb of Somerville, Massachusetts, near her home as the US Department of State had revoked her student visa. US District Judge William Sessions in Vermont had stated in the judgement that Ozturk be released on her own recognizance with no travel restrictions, and that the Turkish student was not a danger to the community or a flight risk. The judge added that he might amend the release order to consider any conditions by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
