Judge Rejects Trump Administration's Attempt to Dismiss Student's Detention Challenge

A federal judge has denied a request from the Trump administration to dismiss a legal challenge filed by a Tufts University doctoral student regarding her arrest and detention. The student, Rumeysa Ozturk, is currently held in a Louisiana detention center, along with other international students. She was apprehended by plainclothes immigration agents outside her Massachusetts apartment.

The judge, Denise Casper, has decided to transfer the case to Vermont, where Ozturk was located when her lawyers initially sought her release. Her legal team alleges that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intentionally moved her case to a different jurisdiction, potentially to gain a more favorable outcome under the Trump administration.

Ozturk's attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai, stated that the decision sends a clear message against government manipulation of jurisdiction to target human rights advocates, violating their First Amendment rights. Khanbabai emphasized that Ozturk should not have been arrested or detained in the first place and that the focus remains on securing her immediate release and safe return home.

The judge's ruling came after a court hearing in Boston, where Department of Justice lawyers had requested the dismissal of the challenge, aiming to allow the administration to deport Ozturk. She is among several international students targeted for removal due to their Palestinian advocacy. She has not been accused of any crime, and the government's primary evidence appears to be an opinion piece she wrote criticizing Israel in a student newspaper.

Ozturk is pursuing her doctorate at Tufts University's Eliot-Pearson Child Study and Human Development program. She previously earned a master's degree in developmental psychology from Teachers College at Columbia University, where she was a Fulbright scholar.

Federal agents arrested Ozturk on March 25 while she was en route to an Iftar dinner. The administration later revoked her student visa. Her family, friends, and attorneys were unaware of her location for nearly a day after her arrest. Her legal team argues that federal authorities deliberately concealed her whereabouts.

Following her arrest, another federal judge had ordered that Ozturk could not be moved out of state without 48 hours' notice. However, she was moved to Louisiana within a day. The ACLU of Massachusetts attorney, Adriana Lafaille, stated that the government ignored the order by secretly moving her. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter argued that the move was already planned before the order. The case will now be heard by Vermont District Judge William Sessions III.