U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston scheduled a Thursday hearing on the matter.
Casper, responding to a petition filed last week by Ozturk's lawyers, issued a ruling on March 28 that Ozturk can't be removed from the United States "until further order of this court."
But on Tuesday, lawyers for the Justice Department argued that the judge lacks jurisdiction to decide Ozturk's case. They said Ozturk's lawyers had to file her petition in the jurisdiction where she was confined, according to court paperwork. They said the case should be dismissed or transferred to Louisiana, and that any challenge belongs in immigration court.
Ozturk "is not without recourse to challenge the revocation of her visa and her arrest and detention, but such challenge cannot be made before this court,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter wrote. The filing mentioned an April 7 appearance for Ozturk before an immigration judge in Louisiana.
Ozturk's lawyers pushed back, saying that at the time they filed the petition, they had no way of knowing where she was.
"Ms. Ozturk’s counsel was kept in the dark about her client’s whereabouts as ICE quickly and quietly moved her to three separate locations in three different states on her way to Louisiana," the attorneys wrote in a response filed Wednesday. “ICE’s deliberate and secretive hopscotch approach is an unlawful attempt to game the system.”
Attorneys also noted the petition was filed while Ozturk was in a vehicle within the control of Massachusetts-based ICE officials, making the Boston court the appropriate venue. But they said if the judge disagrees, the case should be moved to Vermont.
Ozturk's lawyers have said her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process. They asked the judge to order that she be immediately returned to Massachusetts and released from custody.
Nearly two dozen of Ozturk's colleagues have submitted letters to the court backing that request, describing her as a gentle, compassionate and cherished member of the Tufts community.
The university's president, Sunil Kumar, also submitted a declaration praising her doctoral research into how youth can use social media in positive ways. Kumar noted that at the time of her detention, Ozturk was in “good immigration standing” according to a federal database of international students. About an hour later, however, her record was updated to note that her visa was terminated.
Ozturk is among several people with ties to American universities who attended demonstrations or publicly expressed support for Palestinians during the war in Gaza and who have recently had visas revoked or been stopped from entering the U.S. She was one of four students who wrote an op-ed in The Tufts Daily last year criticizing the university's response to student activists' demands. The student activists were demanding that Tufts "acknowledge the Palestinian genocide," disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.
Friends have said Ozturk was not otherwise closely involved in protests against Israel, and the opinion piece was not in violation of school policies surrounding freedom of expression, Kumar said in the declaration to the court.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed the termination of Ozturk's visa last week, saying investigations found she engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. The department did not provide evidence of that support, and there was no further explanation in the government lawyers' response Tuesday.
“We gave you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist, to tear up our university campuses,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week when asked about Ozturk.
Hamas militants invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in an attack that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and during which about 250 hostages were seized. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 50,000 people, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, and destroyed much of the enclave.
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McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writer Holly Ramer also contributed from Concord.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP