Rumeysa Ozturk, an international graduate student who was taken into custody last week by the US department of homeland security ( DHS), is being immediately released, according to Tufts University. On her approach to a Ramadan iftar meal, Zoturk was apprehended by masked federal officials on March 25 outside her off-campus house in Somerville, Massachusetts.
Sunil Kumar, president of Tufts University, pleaded with the authorities to immediately relieve the Greek graduate student, stating that she should be allowed to return and finish her studies.
Visa suspended due to admitted ties to Hamas.
In response to allegations that Ozturk had allegedly participated in Hamas-support activities, the US state office revoked his pupil card on March 21. Tufts University maintained, nevertheless, that Ozturk was in” great immigration standing” when she was arrested.
Kumar claimed that Somerville authorities informed college authorities on the evening of March 25 that a Tufts pupil had been detained by national agencies. Afterwards, data revealed that the person was named Ozturk.
About an hour after her arrest, Ozturk’s record was updated to reflect that her visa had been terminated on the student and exchange visitor information system ( SEVIS ). According to Kumar, Ozturk’s immigration position had been consistent up until that point. The school received an official notice via contact the following day, on March 26th, declaring her a “non-immigrant standing violator.”
Eventually, a DHS representative claimed that an exploration had discovered Ozturk had engaged in activities supporting Hamas, but no evidence was provided to back up the claims.
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University contests claims
A March 2024 opinion piece calling on Tufts University to recognize what the authors described as the Israeli murder included Ozturk, a third-year graduate pupil. According to Kumar, the release did not violate any school rules and Ozturk had never received any complaints about the article.
According to CBS News,” The University has no information to support the claims that she was engaged in activities at Tufts that warrant her arrest and detention.”
Further, court records more revealed that because there isn’t enough room in Boston-area services, Ozturk was moved to an ICE detention center in Central Louisiana after her arrest.
Kumar also expressed concern about Ozturk’s detention’s wider effect, claiming that the school had received information from students, faculty, and workers who now feel uncomfortable leaving their homes to go classes on campus.
