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A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered detained Turkish doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk transferred from an immigration facility in Louisiana to a federal court in Vermont, dealing a legal blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to deport her over her pro-Palestinian speech.
The Justice Department had sought to prevent the transfer, aiming to block Ozturk from attending a bail hearing set for May 9 in Vermont, where a district judge is expected to weigh the legality of her continued detention. Ozturk, who was detained in March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has been held at an immigration jail in the southern state since then.
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday from both Justice Department attorneys and Ozturk’s legal team before ruling against the administration. The panel upheld a lower court’s decision requiring Ozturk be returned to Vermont to attend hearings scheduled by U.S. District Judge William Sessions. The ruling gives the Trump administration one week to comply.
It remains unclear whether the administration will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Earlier Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the judiciary on social media, writing that the U.S. justice system "is not letting me do the job I was Elected to do."
He added, "Activist judges must let the Trump Administration deport murderers, and other criminals who have come into our Country illegally, WITHOUT DELAY!!!"
Ozturk was detained March 25 by plainclothes ICE agents while walking in Somerville, Massachusetts. She was subsequently transferred through three states before being detained in Louisiana. Ozturk co-authored a student newspaper op-ed last year at Tufts University criticizing Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Esha Bhandari, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union representing Ozturk, told the appellate panel Tuesday that Ozturk "has been held behind bars for six weeks while her health deteriorates for writing an op-ed, and now that the district court is on the verge of hearing her urgent claim for release, this Friday, the government asks this court to extraordinarily intervene to block her transfer to the district, as if it is the party suffering any irreparable harm."
“The executive branch made a specific decision to detain Ms. Ozturk that was motivated by her speech,” Bhandari said.
Under questioning from Circuit Judge Barrington D. Parker, Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign declined to clarify whether Ozturk’s op-ed was protected under the First Amendment.
"Your honor, we haven't taken a position on that," Ensign said, adding he did not “have authority to take a position on that right now.”
The court's ruling has cast doubt on whether Friday’s hearing can proceed as scheduled, given the one-week timeline for her transfer.
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