Vermont federal judge refuses request to release Tufts student on bail

Local News

A federal judge in Vermont said he needed to determine whether the court has jurisdiction over Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk’s case.

A federal judge in Vermont reportedly denied a request Monday for the release of Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts graduate student who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers outside her Somerville apartment last month.

Judge William K. Sessions III, who sits in Vermont District Court, said he could not consider Öztürk’s request to be released on bail until he rules on whether the court has jurisdiction over a petition challenging the legality of her detention, The Boston Globe reported.

During a telephone conference Monday, Sessions ordered Öztürk’s lawyers and the government to file supplemental court briefs by Thursday at 5 p.m., according to court records.

Öztürk’s case was originally filed in Boston before a federal judge transferred the case Friday to Vermont District Court. Sessions told lawyers that if the court has no jurisdiction over the case, then it cannot rule on Öztürk’s petition, according to the Globe.

Ramzi Kassem, one of more than a dozen lawyers representing Öztürk, urged Simmons to release her and asserted that the court has the power to do so, the Globe reported.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher argued that immigration law prevents federal district courts from having jurisdiction over ICE’s actions and that Öztürk’s case should be decided in immigration court, according to the Globe.

Sessions set Öztürk’s next hearing for April 14, court records show.

Öztürk, 30, is a Turkish national and Fulbright Scholar who is pursuing a doctorate in Tufts’ Child Study and Human Development department. She was taken into custody by masked ICE agents March 25. She is currently being held at the South Louisiana Correctional Center in Basile, La.

Öztürk’s attorneys say she was targeted because she co-authored an op-ed in the Tufts student newspaper that criticized the university’s response to student government resolutions regarding the war in Gaza. They say that her detainment violates her First Amendment right to free speech, according to a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

Tufts representatives declared in a statement that the op-ed “was not in violation of any Tufts policies” and that Öztürk’s actions did not “constitute a violation of the University’s understanding of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.”

Öztürk’s detention has prompted outrage from public officials, union leaders, students, and other advocates.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Attorney General Andrea Campbell were among those who called for Öztürk’s release at a protest last week in downtown Boston.

“In no way is the detainment and abduction of Rümeysa advancing public safety here in Massachusetts or in this country,” Campbell said at the protest. “It’s an insult to everything this country stands for, and if you do not know your historical context, you better get to know it real quick.”