Öztürk v. Hyde

On March 25, 2025, federal agents arrested Rümeysa Öztürk, a PhD candidate at Tufts University present on a student visa. The year before, she had co-authored an op-ed related to the conflict in Gaza in her school newspaper, in which she criticized her university’s administration. A website subsequently published a profile on Ms. Öztürk, linking to screenshots of the op-ed and suggesting it constituted “anti-Israel activism.”

Then, on the evening of March 25, plainclothes officers (several wearing masks and hoods) approached Ms. Öztürk near her apartment, grabbed her as she screamed, handcuffed her, and took her away in an unmarked vehicle. Unbeknownst to Ms. Öztürk, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had revoked her visa several days earlier. When asked about the reason he had revoked Ms. Öztürk’s visa, Secretary Rubio cited nothing she had done beyond writing an op-ed, responding that he would continue revoking visas of any international student he believed became a “social activist that tears up our university campuses.” 

On April 28, FIRE — joined by the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Cato Institute, The Rutherford Institute, PEN America, and First Amendment Lawyers Association — filed a "friend of the court" brief calling for the release of Ms. Öztürk and all others detained and targeted for deportation based on protected speech.

On May 9, a federal district judge ordered the immediate release of Ms. Öztürk after finding that the “reason she’s been detained is simply and purely the expression she made.”