An immigration judge denied bond to Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts graduate student from Turkey who was seized by federal immigration agents last month in Somerville.
Her attorneys argue immigration judge Sherron Ashworth denied bond based on her “untenable conclusion that Ms. Öztürk was both a flight risk and a danger to the community,” they wrote in a federal habeas case filing on Wednesday to Vermont District Court Judge William Sessions III.
Öztürk’s removal proceedings in immigration court are separate from her habeas case in federal court, which will be heard in Vermont. Öztürk’s attorneys are also asking Sessions to order her transfer back to Vermont by this Friday. She is currently held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center.
ACLU of Massachusetts attorney Adriana Lafaille confirmed Öztürk’s immigration attorneys will file an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals, the highest administrative body for interpreting immigration law. But at the same time, Öztürk’s attorneys will continue their attempts to free her through federal court.
“The government is continuing to try to push forward Rümeysa’s removal proceedings as quickly as possible in order to come out with an order removing her from the United States,” said Lafaille.
“This is a situation that we think calls for urgent action by the federal court to release from custody and, or at least take immediate steps so that her continued detention can be evaluated,” she said.
Öztürk and other students wrote an opinion piece in a Tufts University student newspaper last year, calling for the university administration to divest from companies tied with Israel during the ongoing occupation of Palestine.
Mahsa Khanbabai of Khanbabai Immigration Law, who is representing Öztürk in both her immigration and habeas cases, reiterated that Öztürk hasn’t been charged with a crime, and no evidence has been provided to support her detention.
“The court yesterday relied on a previously submitted State Department memo that points to nothing that Ms. Öztürk said or did — other than her 2024 school newspaper op-ed — to falsely claim she is a danger to her community,” Khanbabai said. “This attack on free speech is despicable, but we won’t be deterred.”
She said Öztürk’s bond denial is an example of why they are fighting the federal courts to intervene in her immigration case.
“Yesterday was a complete violation of due process and the rule of law. The immigration courts are cowering to the Trump administration’s attempts to silence advocates of Palestinian rights,” said Öztürk’s second immigration attorney Marty Rosenbluth.
Her attorneys are also asking Sessions to require the government submit into evidence the State Department memo — which was reported by the Washington Post but not yet public — that said the department found no evidence of antisemitic or terrorism support from the student.
In a federal court hearing on Monday, the government said Öztürk was detained because her student visa had been revoked and she was no longer in the country legally. Öztürk’s legal team said the government never provided her notice of that visa status change.
The Trump administration has revoked more than 900 student visas recently, according to the Associated Press , often without a clear reason why. Attorneys for Öztürk say her First Amendment rights have been violated, similar to arguments around Palestinian and Syrian student activist Mahmoud Khalil, who is currently detained due to his protest activity at Columbia University.
