A doctoral student at TUFTS University on a visa was arrested Tuesday evening by the immigration authorities outside Boston, according to the school and the student’s lawyer.
The student, Rumeysa Ozturk, is a Turkish national, according to her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai.
“Rumeysa Ozturk is a Turkish national who maintained a valid F-1 status as a doctoral student at Tufts University,” Khanbabai said in a statement. “Rumeysa was heading for friends to break her Ramadan quickly on the evening of March 25 when she was detained near her home in Somerville, by DHS agents.”
“No accusation has been filed against Rumeysa to date that we know. I have filed a request in Habeas asking that it is not moved from the district of my which was granted by the judge [Indira] Talwani last night “, according to his lawyer.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Security said: “Rumeysa Ozturk is a graduate student from the National University and the Turkish University, has granted the privilege of being done in this country on a visa. Supporting the terrorists who kill the Americans is a reason for dismissal for the realization of Visa.”
ABC News contacted immigration and customs application.
Ozturk is listed in the ICE database as “in detention” and seems to be held in an ice processing center in Basile, Louisiana.
In a new statement to ABC News on Wednesday evening, Khanbabai said she had just learned “There are hours” that his client had been sent to Louisiana.
“More than twenty-four hours after her arrest, Rumeysa has not yet been treated in her final detention center and throughout this time, I could not speak with my client,” she said.
On Tuesday, a federal judge made an order prohibiting the DHS from withdrawing Ozturk from the district of Massachusetts without giving an opinion on the court. It is not known when it was transferred to Louisiana.
In an email to students on Tuesday, the school said that it had been informed that its visa status was “terminated” and sought to find out more information.
A flag of the community day on the Tofts University campus.
Suzanne Kreiter / The Boston Globe via Getty Images
“The university had no knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with the federal authorities before the event, and the place where it took place was not affiliated with TUFTS University,” wrote the school.
“From what we were told later, the student’s visa status has been terminated, and we seek to confirm whether this information is true. The university has no additional information at the moment on the cause or circumstances of the student’s apprehension and tries to know more about the incident,” he continued in part.
“Following the university protocol, the university council office will help connect the student to external legal resources if the person asks for our help,” he added.
Armando Garcia from ABC News contributed to this report.
