Tufts Student Ozturk Returns to Turkey After Settling With U.S. Over Anti-Israel Op-Ed Visa Battle

Turkish Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was detained by ICE in 2024 after her visa was revoked over alleged "activities in support of Hamas," returned to Turkey under a legal settlement with the U.S. government after completing her PhD remotely. Ozturk co-authored a campus op-ed critical of Israel that the State Department cited as grounds for removing her student visa, making her case a flashpoint in the broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech at American universities. Her self-deportation terminates the litigation while allowing both sides to claim victory, with the Trump administration pointing to its enforcement record and civil-liberties advocates highlighting her completed doctorate.