US judge blocks efforts to deport pro-Palestinian student Ozturk from US
A judge in the US has blocked the deportation of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Tufts University student arrested last year as part of a crackdown on pro-Palestinian activists, according to her lawyers.
Ozturk’s lawyers detailed the decision in a letter filed at the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.
Ozturk, a PhD student studying children’s relationship to social media, was arrested last March while walking down a street as the Trump administration began targeting foreign-born students and activists involved in pro-Palestine advocacy.
Trump administration slams court ruling rejecting bid to deport pro-Palestinian student
As we’ve reported, a judge in the US has rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to deport Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was arrested last year as part of a crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activists.
A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has criticised the decision, arguing that it reflects “judicial activism”.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi 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”, the spokesperson said.
The administration could challenge the immigration judge’s ruling, which was not made public, before the Board of Immigration Appeals, which is part of the US Department of Justice.
