Detained Tufts student released after federal judge's order
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A rally in solidarity with Rumeysa Ozturk outside New York Federal Court on May 6. Photo: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk was released from jail Friday following a six-week detention.
The big picture: Her release comes after a federal judge earlier Friday ordered the Trump administration to free her.
- Federal judges in Vermont have now ordered the release of two international students who were abruptly detained over pro-Palestinian speech or protest.
- Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student who was detained during a U.S. naturalization interview, was released last month.
Driving the news: U.S. District Judge William Sessions granted bail to Öztürk, who had been in custody in a Louisiana detention facility for six weeks.
- Öztürk suffered an asthma attack during the bail hearing Friday morning, NBC Boston reported.
Öztürk, a member of the Tufts Grad Workers Union and SEIU Local 509, was greeted by SEIU workers who were protesting outside the Louisiana detention center in which she was held.
- "Thank you so much for all the support and love," she said, per NBC Boston.
Context: Öztürk was detained in March for writing a pro-Palestinian op-ed in the Tufts Daily that criticized her university and urged it to divest from companies tied to Israel.
- The government alleged she was "engaged in activities in support of Hamas" but did not explain what those were.
- The Trump administration spent weeks fighting orders to bring Öztürk to Vermont to attend her bail hearing in person — and after failed attempts to have her lawsuit against the administration heard in Louisiana instead of New England.
What they're saying: Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said in a statement Friday, "We are so relieved that Rümeysa will soon be back in Massachusetts, and won't stop fighting until she is free for good."
- Asked about the development during a press briefing Friday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she'll have to check on the particular case but added, "We've made quite clear that lower level judges should not be dictating the foreign policy of the United States, and we absolutely believe that the president and the Department of Homeland Security are well within their legal rights to deport illegal immigrants."
- Öztürk was in the U.S. legally on a student visa when she was detained.
Zoom out: Öztürk's detention sparked outrage among pro-Palestinian protesters and Jewish leaders who say claims of antisemitism are being weaponized to justify the Trump administration's expanded immigration crackdown.
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Go deeper: Court orders Trump administration to transfer detained Tufts student to Vermont
