A federal court in Massachusetts has temporarily blocked the deportation of Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student at Tufts University, until it determines whether it possesses subject matter jurisdiction over her case. On Friday, Judge Denise Casper issued the order, referencing established precedents that enable a court to maintain its jurisdiction while it assesses whether it possesses authority over the matter when significant jurisdictional questions arise.
Judge Indira Talwani had previously instructed that Ozturk should not be relocated outside Massachusetts without at least 48 hours’ notice to the court, excluding weekends. Ozturk, despite this directive, was transferred to an immigration detention center in Louisiana. This move was made subsequent to a writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of Ozturk, following her arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. She was apprehended on Tuesday while walking down a street, captured by footage showing officers with covered faces.
A Turkish national on an F-1 student visa, Ozturk co-authored an opinion piece in 2024 urging Tufts University to disengage from Israeli affiliations. She is also listed on Canary Mission, a site known for its doxxing activities against individuals perceived as anti-Israel. The incident continues a sequence of instances in which actions of the Trump administration have raised questions about compliance with judicial orders. The situation echoes incidents where federal directives were defied, such as those concerning the deportation of Venezuelan nationals and the halting of federal aid funding.
Despite criticism from some Jewish groups and rights advocates concerning Ozturk’s arrest, Secretary of State Marco Rubio supported the government’s action, highlighting the intended purpose of her visa. His statement came against the backdrop of his own family heritage, with his grandfather also having faced potential deportation.
Support for Ozturk has emerged from faculty members at Tufts University’s Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development, as detailed in a press release. The government has until Tuesday at 5:00 PM to respond to Ozturk’s complaint.
This story originally appeared on JURIST.