Tufts University has offered the most public defense yet of a graduate student who was detained as the Trump administration revokes hundreds of student visas over alleged involvement in pro-Palestinian protests or related activities.
In a legal brief, Tufts University President Sunil Kumar demanded the immediate release of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish doctoral student who was arrested on March 25 outside her off-campus apartment by Department of Homeland Security agents. Öztürk, whose student visa was revoked the same day, was headed to an iftar dinner at the Tufts Interfaith Center to break her daily Ramadan fast, Kumar said.
“The university has no information to support the allegations that she was engaged in activities at Tufts that warrant her arrest and detention,” Kumar wrote. “The University has seen an outpouring of support for Ms. Öztürk over the last week from Tufts students, faculty and staff. These individuals have described Ms. Öztürk as a valued member of the community, dedicated to her academic pursuits and committed to her colleagues.”
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Öztürk is a third-year doctoral student whose research focuses on how young adults can use social media in positive, prosocial ways. Kumar confirmed that Öztürk co-authored an opinion piece in The Tufts Daily, published on March 26, 2024, that urged adoption of student senate resolutions calling for the university to acknowledge “the Palestinian genocide” and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel, among other measures.
Widespread media reports indicate the op-ed was the reason Öztürk was detained.
“The University declares that this opinion piece was not in violation of any Tufts policies,” Kumar wrote in the legal brief. “Further, no complaints were filed with the university or, to our knowledge, outside of the university about this op-ed. The university maintains that the op-ed was consistent with speech permitted by the Declaration on Freedom of Expression adopted by our trustees.”
A handful of students with green cards or visas have been detained in recent weeks and threatened with deportation for what the administration describes as pro-Palestinian activities on campus. Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the Trump administration has revoked the student visas of several hundred people it deems “lunatics,” accused of vandalizing universities, harassing students and taking over buildings.
“I think it’s stupid for any country in the world to welcome people into their country that are going to go to their universities as visitors and say ‘I’m going to your universities to start a riot,’” Rubio said. “We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses.”
