Court Halts Deportation of Pro-Palestinian PhD Student

An immigration judge rejected efforts to deport Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University PhD student. Arrested for co-authoring an editorial criticizing U.S. response to Israel, her visa was revoked. The judge found insufficient grounds for deportation, ruling in favor of her free speech rights.

An immigration judge has dismissed efforts by the Trump administration to deport Rumeysa Ozturk, a PhD student at Tufts University. The decision comes after Ozturk, previously arrested, challenged the revocation of her student visa, allegedly due to her co-authored criticism against U.S. policies on Israel. Advocates see this as a victory for free speech.

Attorney Mahsa Khanbabai, representing Ozturk, stated that Immigration Judge Roopal Patel determined the U.S. Department of Homeland Security failed to justify her deportation. Ozturk's arrest last year in Massachusetts followed the revocation, sparking widespread protest over potential free speech suppression.

Homeland Security condemned the ruling as 'judicial activism.' The ruling is under potential appeal by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, a federal judge found the administration's policy on deporting scholars like Ozturk to be unlawful, prompting further legal contestation.

(With inputs from agencies.)