Appeals Court Reviews Detention Cases of Tufts, Columbia Students/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments in two immigration-related cases involving university students — one from Tufts University still in detention, and a recently released Palestinian student from Columbia University. Both claim their rights were violated.
Appeals Court Reviews Student Detention Cases: Quick Looks
- Who’s Involved: Turkish Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk, Palestinian Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi
- Court Date: Tuesday before the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York
- Current Status: Ozturk detained in Louisiana, Mahdawi released in Vermont
- Free Speech Issue: Both students allege detention linked to campus activism
- Government Claims: DOJ says jurisdiction belongs with immigration courts, not federal judges
- DHS Allegation: Claims Ozturk supported Hamas, though no evidence presented
- Academic Standing: Both students were completing or set to start advanced degrees
- Next Steps: Court to decide on consolidating cases and jurisdiction questions
Appeals Court Reviews Detention Cases of Tufts, Columbia Students
Deep Look
The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Tuesday in two politically charged immigration cases that have drawn national attention, each involving international university students with ties to recent campus protests.
Ozturk Detained in Louisiana
Rumeysa Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, has been held by immigration authorities for more than six weeks. She was detained March 25 while walking in a Boston suburb and later transported to a detention center in Basile, Louisiana.
Ozturk’s legal team says her detainment violated her constitutional rights to free speech and due process, particularly after she co-authored a campus op-ed in The Tufts Daily criticizing the university’s response to student-led calls to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and divest from Israeli-linked entities.
Though a Vermont judge ordered her to be returned for a hearing by May 1, the Justice Department appealed, arguing that immigration court — not a federal court — has jurisdiction. The appeals court stayed the order to allow for deliberation.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed, without offering evidence, that Ozturk supported Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the U.S. Ozturk has not been formally charged with any crimes.
Mahdawi Released Amid Protest Crackdown
Mohsen Mahdawi, a 34-year-old Palestinian graduate of Columbia University and a U.S. green card holder for 10 years, was recently released after spending two weeks in a Vermont prison. He was detained during a citizenship interview in mid-April.
Mahdawi had been a visible leader in Columbia’s Gaza protests, and a federal judge concluded his arrest likely involved political motivations. Judge Geoffrey Crawford wrote that Mahdawi had presented
“a substantial claim that the government arrested him to stifle speech with which it disagrees.”
Now free to leave Vermont, Mahdawi plans to attend his graduation ceremony in New York and enroll in a Columbia master’s program this fall.
Legal Questions and Broader Implications
The Justice Department is requesting that the two cases be consolidated, citing overlapping legal questions — including federal court authority over immigration enforcement and possible First Amendment violations.
While immigration proceedings for both students continue separately, the appeals court ruling could have broader ramifications for how campus activism intersects with immigration enforcement.
Free speech and due process advocates are closely watching the case as part of a growing number of high-profile incidents involving student protesters and immigration penalties.
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