Tufts student held in ICE center after arrest by masked agents moved to Louisiana defying judge’s order

Federal authorities have defied a Massachusetts federal judge's order by transferring Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was detained near Tufts University, from Massachusetts to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center.

Ozturk, detained on Tuesday, had been granted a court order preventing her transfer outside of the state without two days' notice. Prosecutors revealed Thursday that the transfer had already taken place before the judge’s directive could be enforced.

A Turkish national with a student visa, Ozturk is the latest international student caught up in the growing controversy over the Trump administration's treatment of detainees.

Ozturk was on her way to meet friends for an iftar dinner in Somerville, Massachusetts, when she was accosted by immigration officials, physically detained, and arrested near campus. In March 2024, Ozturk co-authored an op-ed in the Tufts Daily, the university’s student newspaper, criticizing the university’s response to the Pro-Palestinian movement and the student body's efforts to sever the school's ties to Israel.

On Wednesday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Ozturk “engaged in activities in support of Hamas” but did not specify the alleged activities. Her attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai, has reportedly filed a habeas petition in Massachusetts federal court to get the student out of detention.

Earlier this month, federal authorities also moved Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder, from New York to Louisiana despite ongoing legal battles to return his case to the Northeast.

Khalil, a Columbia graduate student, was arrested by ICE after the Trump administration accused him of being a Hamas sympathizer without providing any evidence. Khalil, an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent who is living in the country legally, has since filed a lawsuit to fight his deportation.

Khalil's American wife, who is eight months pregnant, has disclosed that he is being detained at an immigration center in Louisiana. A judge has blocked his deportation amid the lawsuit fighting his expulsion from the country.