Rümeysa Öztürk Finally Returns Home After Being Detained Over 6 Weeks For Sharing Her Opinions

Finally, some good news! You’ve probably seen Rümeysa Öztürk’s name in recent headlines; she was arrested by plain-clothes ICE officers over a paper she co-authored and submitted to the Tufts campus newspaper that — among other things — condemned the indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians by Israel. The usual course of action when someone is deeply angered by an article is to pen a letter to the editor. In a huge break from that norm, Öztürk was handcuffed and deemed a threat to U.S. foreign policy. Facing deportation, she was shipped from Massachusetts to Vermont. Thankfully, the 2nd Circuit intervened, ordering that she be returned to Massachusetts. Though the court offered clear instructions and a time frame to act, it was an open question whether the order would be obeyed or ignored by the Executive. In a huge win for due process, the order was respected. Since then, Öztürk has made her way home. CNN has coverage:

Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk on Saturday arrived in her home state of Massachusetts after she was snatched by masked federal agents near her home and spent six weeks in ICE detention as part of the Trump administration’s effort to deport noncitizens who have spoken out against the war in Gaza.
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Öztürk said she will continue to pursue her case in court as she gets back to her studies and research work.

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By Above the Law

As chilling as it can be to know that sharing your political opinions can put an ICE-shaped target on your back, Öztürk’s return is a beacon of hope for students who take the First Amendment and due process seriously.

Tufts University Student Rümeysa Öztürk Arrives Back Home After Spending Six Weeks At A Louisiana Detention Center [CNN]

Earlier: 2nd Circuit Orders Return Of Vermont Grad Student Abducted By ICE Because She Wrote An Article They Didn’t Like

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.