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Tufts Daily

Special Coverage | Rümeysa Öztürk: Two Years Later

Two years ago, on March 26, 2024, the Daily published an op-ed titled: “Try Again President Kumar: Renewing calls for Tufts to adopt March 4 TCU Senate resolutions.” The op-ed was coauthored by four graduate students: Fatima Rahman, Genesis Perez, Nicholas Ambeliotis and Turkish student Rümeysa Öztürk. Almost exactly one year later, on the afternoon of March 25, 2025, Öztürk was detained by agents from the Department of Homeland Security near her home in Somerville while on the way to an iftar dinner. She was released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Louisiana on May 9.

Since her detention and release, the number of cases filed in her name has grown. Likewise, the number of lawsuits alleging that the federal government has violated noncitizens’ First Amendment rights, many referencing Öztürk’s case, has increased.

This page includes our news coverage of her legal proceedings across several courts, as well as op-eds submitted following Öztürk’s arrest, including her 2024 op-ed and a July 2025 op-ed. The most recent articles include an analysis of recently unsealed documents from DHS and the State Department in the days leading up to Öztürk’s arrest, as well as a timeline of her 45 days in detention and a year of extensive legal proceedings.