BOSTON (WHDH) – The Tuft’s University student who was detained by ICE last year in Somerville will return to Turkey after finishing her PHD.
Rümeysa Öztürk was taken to several ICE detention facilities before eventually being transfered to Louisiana where she was held for over six weeks.
Öztürk accused the government of targeting her for co-authoring a pro-Palestinian editorial in the school newspaper.
An immigration judge terminated the removal proceedings against Öztürk earlier this year, finding the government had no reason to deport her.
“The time stolen from me by the U.S. government belongs not just to me, but to the children and youth I have dedicated my life to advocating for,” Öztürk said in a statement. “With them in mind, 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.”
In her statement, Öztürk also spoke about life as a foreign student in the United States. She invited all universities to do better about listening and valuing all of their students as equal community members, rather than favoring some and silencing others.
The U.S. government confirmed that Öztürk’s legal status was fully reinstated for her time in the U.S. and that she was in lawful status at the time she left.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
About the Author
Discover more from USA NEWS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
