Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk reportedly self-deports to Turkey

Rumeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University medical graduate student from Türkiye, had her charges dropped after DHS detained her on the “” charge.[engaging] According to sources familiar with the matter, the person who was involved in activities supporting Hamas was deported to Türkiye.

According to familiar sources, Öztürk deported himself by flying from the United States to Istanbul late Thursday night.

Öztürk’s detention by ICE in Somerville, Massachusetts, in March 2025 sparked a fight between the Trump administration and a federal judge over his custody.

The Tufts graduate student was living in the United States under an F-1 student visa that the Trump administration canceled around March 21, 2025. At the time his visa was revoked, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration were cracking down on student visas for students participating in protests and demonstrations related to Israel and Palestine.

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Öztürk said in a statement: “After 13 years of dedicated work, I am very proud to have completed my doctorate and to return home on my own timeline.” he said. “The time stolen from me by the U.S. government belongs not just to me, but to the children and youth I have dedicated my life to defending. With them in mind, I choose to return home as planned to continue my career as a female academic without wasting any more time facing state-imposed violence and hostility in the United States where I live—all this is nothing more than co-signing a column defending Palestinian rights.”

Öztürk co-authored an opinion piece published March 26, 2024, in the Tufts Daily, the campus student newspaper.

“Credible accusations against Israel include statements that Palestinian civilians are deliberately starved, indiscriminately murdered, and plausible genocide,” the column said. The statement is included.

Writers, including Öztürk, criticized the university’s response to anti-Israel protests and said the university should publicly acknowledge the suffering of Palestinians.

Rubio specifically referenced the opinions in his statement regarding the cancellation of student visas following Öztürk’s arrest on March 25, 2025.

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“If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and become a student and you tell us that the reason you came to the United States is not just to write columns but also to participate in movements that are involved in vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating mayhem, etc., we will not grant you a visa,” Rubio said.

Trump’s Ministry of Justice also focused on Öztürk’s deportation.

“Attending elite colleges and universities in the United States is a privilege afforded to foreign students who respect our values ​​and abide by our laws,” a Justice Department official told Fox News. “Rümeysa Öztürk chose not to comply with these simple conditions and as a result left the United States, something the Administration has sought to achieve from the beginning. We will continue to push for the deportation of foreign students who abuse the opportunity to study in America by engaging in vile antisemitism, harassment, or other unlawful behavior.”

According to information received, after his arrest, Öztürk was transported to Methuen, Mass., then Lebanon, New Hampshire and Vermont, and then sent to the South Louisiana ICE processing facility.

Protests broke out at Tufts and across the country over his arrest, and he was released on bail two months later.

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Rumeysa Öztürk is on an apple picking trip in 2021. (AP Photo) (AP)

The legal battle between the Trump administration and Öztürk, who was legally represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), continued until February 9, when Biden-appointed Boston immigration judge Roopal Patel terminated the deportation proceedings.

Patel ruled that the Department of Homeland Security lacked legal basis to deport him.

In a statement released by his lawyers after the verdict, Öztürk said, “I feel sorry for the many people who cannot bring to light the ill-treatment they have faced.” he said. “When we speak out openly about the many injustices around us, including what is happening in Gaza, as well as the treatment of immigrants and others who are targeted and thrown into ICE prisons for profit, true justice will prevail.”

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The Trump Justice Department fired Patel, along with other immigration judges, last week.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters outside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 13, after refusing to apologize for remarks criticizing Pope Leo XIV. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Patel is a federal III. Because he rules as an immigration judge, not a substance judge, the Trump administration and executive branch have authority over his tenure.

The White House issued a press release on April 9 titled “Amnesty is Over: President Trump is Restoring the Rule of Law to Immigration Courts.” In that statement, the administration praised “the most aggressive and successful immigration enforcement overhaul in modern history.”

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“President Trump promised to end the nightmare of open borders, and he is delivering on that promise with relentless force. The era of catch-and-release, mass release, and activist judicial amnesty is over,” the White House statement said.