Tufts Graduate Targeted for Pro-Palestinian Activism Returns to Turkey After Federal Settlement

Pro-Palestinian scholar Rumeysa Ozturk leaves the U.S. after a settlement with the Trump admin. Read about the case that sparked a national debate on student visas.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 17, 2026, 12:49 PM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Reuters

A Legal Resolution to a Contentious Deportation Battle

The year-long legal struggle between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Turkish scholar Rumeysa Ozturk has concluded with a formal settlement, allowing the Tufts University graduate to return to her home country. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), representing Ozturk, announced the accord just one week after the Trump administration dismissed an immigration judge who had previously blocked efforts to deport her. This settlement effectively ends all pending litigation, including an appeal by the Department of Justice aimed at overturning the 2025 judicial decision that had initially secured Ozturk’s release from federal custody.

The Context of Campus Activism and Visa Revocation

Ozturk’s case became a focal point for international human rights groups after her arrest in Massachusetts in March 2025. A former Fulbright scholar, she was detained by immigration agents on a public street shortly after the U.S. Department of State revoked her student visa. According to legal filings, the sole justification provided for the revocation was an editorial Ozturk co-authored in the Tufts student newspaper a year earlier. The piece criticized the university’s administrative response to the war in Gaza, a statement the government initially characterized as grounds for removal under a broader policy targeting non-citizen students with anti-Israel views.

Forty-Five Days of Detention in Louisiana

Following her arrest, Ozturk was transported to a detention facility in Louisiana, where she was held for 45 days. Her attorneys argued that the detention was a retaliatory measure intended to silence academic dissent and chill free speech on American campuses. Despite the aggressive push for her deportation, a federal judge ordered her release in May 2025, allowing her to remain in the United States to complete her doctoral program. The ACLU emphasized that throughout the ordeal, Ozturk maintained her academic standing, successfully finishing her PhD in child study and human development in February 2026.