Tufts Student Rumeysa Ozturk Leaves US After Immigration Settlement

Turkish doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk, whose detention became a flash point in the national debate over immigration and free speech, has left the U.S. under a legal settlement with the federal government, bringing an end to a prolonged legal fight that drew widespread attention.

Ozturk departed the country after reaching an agreement that resolves all outstanding immigration proceedings, according to her attorneys, effectively self-deporting following more than a year of court battles.

Her legal team said the settlement lets her return to Turkey after completing her doctoral studies this year at Massachusetts' Tufts University, where she had been pursuing research on children and social media.

"I am choosing to return home as planned to continue my career as a woman scholar without losing more time to the state-imposed violence and hostility I have experienced in the United States — all for nothing more than co-signing an op-ed advocating for Palestinian rights," Ozturk said in a statement to The Boston Globe on Friday.

"I invite everyone to recognize the privilege it is for any country to host international scholars and the hole that is left in our society when that privilege is lost," she added.

Ozturk was arrested in March 2025 in Massachusetts after federal authorities revoked her student visa, an action taken under the Trump administration's broader immigration enforcement efforts targeting some international students involved in pro-Palestinian activism.

The Department of Homeland Security alleged she had engaged in activities supporting Hamas terrorists, though her attorneys and civil liberties groups argued the case stemmed from her co-authoring an opinion piece criticizing her university's response to Israel's war in Gaza.

Her arrest, carried out by plainclothes federal agents near her home, quickly drew national attention after video and eyewitness accounts circulated widely, prompting protests in Massachusetts and beyond.

Ozturk was held for several weeks in immigration detention, including time in a Louisiana facility, before a federal judge ordered her release, finding the government had not provided sufficient evidence to justify her continued detention.

Subsequent court rulings continued to favor Ozturk, with an immigration judge determining in early 2026 that the government had not proved she should be removed from the U.S. and terminating removal proceedings.

Despite that ruling, the administration retained the ability to appeal, prolonging the case for months and leaving Ozturk's immigration status uncertain as litigation continued in multiple courts.

The dispute ultimately concluded this week with a negotiated settlement permitting her departure without further restrictions, according to her attorneys.

Speaking through the American Civil Liberties Union, Ozturk criticized the treatment she faced, citing "state-imposed violence and hostility" tied to her advocacy for Palestinian rights.

Her case became emblematic of broader concerns among legal experts and civil liberties advocates who warned that the government's actions could have a chilling effect on free expression, particularly for noncitizens engaged in political speech.

Internal government findings previously reported by news outlets indicated that officials had not produced evidence linking Ozturk to terrorism or antisemitic activity, raising further questions about the basis for her visa revocation.

The Trump administration has defended its actions as part of a wider effort to combat extremism and antisemitism on U.S. campuses, emphasizing that visas are a privilege and can be revoked at the government's discretion.

Ozturk's arrest and legal battle unfolded against the backdrop of an intensified federal crackdown on some foreign students and activists, with hundreds of visas reportedly revoked during that period.

DHS did not comment on the settlement ending Ozturk's case.

The Justice Department said in a statement that "attending elite colleges and universities in the United States is a privilege afforded to foreign students who respect our values and follow our laws."

The statement continued, "Rumeysa Ozturk chose not to abide by those simple conditions and, as a result, left the United States — something the administration sought to accomplish from the beginning. We will continue to seek the deportation of any foreign student who abuses their opportunity to study in America by engaging in vile antisemitism, harassment, or other illegal behavior."