BOSTON — Removal proceedings against Tufts University Ph.D. student Rümeysa Öztürk have been dismissed by a U.S. immigration court, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Öztürk said, “Today, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that despite the justice system’s flaws, my case may give hope to those who have also been wronged by the U.S. government,” adding that detention centers are comprised of working-class individuals, business owners, families and students who have had their right to due process restricted.
The ACLU said that Öztürk was detained by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in March 2025 because she co-wrote an op-ed that criticized U.S. government participation in what she described as the Palestinian genocide.
The article was cited by the Department of Homeland Security as the basis for labeling Öztürk a threat to society, raising questions about her rights to freedom of speech and press.
The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records are meant to document students, visa information and the institutions that support individuals seeking education or cultural exchange.
Supporters claimed Öztürk’s visa had been revoked without just cause.
Mahsa Khanbabai of Khanbabai Immigration Law said, “The Trump administration has weaponized our immigration system to target valued members of our communities, including scholars like Rümeysa.”
Other scholars, including Mahmoud Khalil and Ranjani Srinivasan, have had their student visas revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to National Public Radio.
Khanbabai also said, “Secretly revoking the visa of someone who has maintained their lawful immigration status as an excuse to detain them and place them into deportation proceedings, on the basis of free speech, is Kafkaesque.”
The American Association of University Professors, in AAUP v. Rubio, highlighted what it described as the Trump administration’s targeting of noncitizen students and university faculty as it pertains to limiting First Amendment rights.
The ACLU said that Öztürk’s legal team filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts stating that her First and Fifth Amendment rights had been violated.
While ICE transferred her from Massachusetts to Louisiana, her counsel was unaware of her location and unable to contact her for 24 hours.
Öztürk said, “Though the pain that I and thousands of other women wrongfully imprisoned by ICE have faced cannot be undone, it is heartening to know that some justice can prevail after all.”
She added, “I grieve for the many human beings who do not get to see the mistreatment they have faced brought into the light.”
Aliya Rahman detailed the lack of medical treatment she received in detention after being brutalized and arrested by ICE agents, saying, “I don’t know if I have been able to process what has happened to me because we are still so very much in the middle of this type of action.”
According to Democracy Now, ICE brutalized and indiscriminately arrested people on the streets without due process and without regard to the law.
NPR reported that ICE was allowed to use discriminatory practices in Noem v. Vasquez to meet quotas set by the Trump administration.
Legal immigrants, undocumented immigrants and American citizens were detained in privatized detention centers that are below basic standards of care.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem encouraged ICE agents to meet up to 3,000 arrests daily, increasing the use of detention centers.
As of February 2026, the dismissal of charges against Öztürk highlights concerns about the application of immigration law.
Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said, “This decision underscores the importance of allowing federal courts to review challenges to immigration detention.”
According to the ACLU, DHS’s refusal to recognize federal court oversight implies an unconstitutional loss of liberty.
If the system of checks and balances is unable to uphold justice or protect the rights of citizens and noncitizens alike, critics argue the law becomes arbitrary.
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yeah, I don’t agree with the term she used, but a lot of people I know use that term. There are others who actually organized actions that I think do deserve to be considered for deportation, but I was never comfortable with this case, the reasoning used, the arrest, how she was treated/transferred.