Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts University student who was targeted by the Trump administration last year over a pro-Palestinian op-ed, has completed her doctorate in the United States and returned to her native Turkey. Öztürk was detained by immigration agents in Massachusetts in March 2025, with video of her arrest going viral. She was one of many international students targeted for pro-Palestinian speech and activism during widespread protests against Israel's war in Gaza.
Öztürk has now returned to Turkey, where she plans to continue her career in child study and human development. In a statement, she said: 'After 13 years of dedicated study, I am very proud to have completed my PhD and to return home on my own timeline. The time stolen from me by the US government belongs not just to me, but to the children and youth I have dedicated my life to advocating for.'
In March 2024, Öztürk co-wrote an op-ed for the Tufts Daily calling for the university to acknowledge what they termed a genocide of Palestinians. One year later, the Trump administration used the op-ed as a pretext to accuse her of antisemitism and revoked her visa. She was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and taken to a detention centre in Louisiana, leading to a lengthy court battle.
Öztürk and the federal government reached a settlement earlier this month, resolving outstanding legal issues and allowing her to return to Turkey without interference. The settlement reinstated her international student status. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had terminated her visa using a little-used authority, accusing her of supporting Hamas without providing evidence.
Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said: 'Dr Öztürk is an academic and scholar. The government’s unlawful actions against her forced her into the spotlight. But in numerous publications over the past year, Dr Öztürk used this platform to educate the public about what she has experienced and to advocate for global human rights with a focus on children.'
An immigration judge earlier terminated Öztürk's case, finding no grounds for deportation. The judge was later fired. Internal government records showed no evidence outside the op-ed to revoke her visa.
