A U.S. immigration judge has terminated deportation proceedings against Tufts University PhD student Rümeysa Öztürk, dealing a significant blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to remove the Turkish scholar who had been critical of Israel.
The court ruled on January 29 that the Department of Homeland Security failed to meet its burden of proving Öztürk should be deported, according to her lawyers. The decision comes after months of legal battles following her controversial arrest in March 2025.
“Today, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that despite the justice system’s flaws, my case may give hope to those who have also been wronged by the U.S. government,” Öztürk said in a statement released Monday.
The case gained national attention when Öztürk was detained outside her home in Somerville, Massachusetts. Video of the arrest showed officers surrounding her as she screamed in fear, sparking outrage across the country. She was subsequently held for 45 days in a detention facility in Louisiana.
Immigration Judge Roopal Patel made the ruling that ended the removal proceedings. Court documents revealed that the sole basis authorities provided for revoking her student visa was an editorial she co-authored in Tufts’ student newspaper a year earlier criticizing the university’s response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Öztürk’s immigration attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai, called the decision “a powerful affirmation of fairness and the rule of law” and said it should serve as a reminder that “immigration enforcement must always be guided by justice.”
The Trump administration has characterized the ruling as “judicial activism.” A DHS spokesperson issued a statement saying, “We are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here. Secretary Noem has made it clear that anyone who thinks they can come to America and hide behind the First Amendment to advocate for anti-American and anti-Semitic violence and terrorism – think again.”
Öztürk was one of several international university students targeted for deportation as part of what critics called the administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activism. In May 2025, U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III ordered her immediate release, stating that “continued detention potentially chills the speech of the millions and millions of individuals in this country who are not citizens.”
The PhD student, who studies children’s relationship to social media, can now continue her academic work at Tufts University. In December, a federal judge had already ruled that Öztürk could resume research and teaching while addressing the consequences of her visa revocation.
The administration could still challenge the immigration judge’s decision before the Board of Immigration Appeals, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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