Rümeysa Öztürk, the Turkish national and Tufts University student who was swept off the streets of Somerville last year by masked immigration agents, completed her doctorate from Tufts’ Department of Child Study and Human Development, she said in a social media post this week.
Öztürk’s arrest in March was the start of a harrowing ordeal that saw her detained by ICE in multiple states, prompting outrage and fear among immigrant communities in Massachusetts. A federal judge in Vermont ordered Öztürk released in May, after six weeks of detention.
In her social media post, Öztürk said despite “the very brutal, illegal and unjustifiable experiences I faced,” she remains hopeful the world can become a “gentler and more peaceful place.”
“A place where every child, no matter where they are born, has the freedom to learn, be in community with others, and ultimately grow up to be an adult with the freedom to speak their mind so that they can gently take care of one another,” she said.
Öztürk’s ability to complete her doctoral studies was thrown into limbo last year after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement revoked a critical immigration record.
The record was maintained in the Student and Exchange Visa Information System, which the federal government uses to monitor whether foreign students are complying with their F-1 student visas.
A federal judge restored the record in December. The Trump administration’s Department of Justice appealed the ruling, but the record remained intact while the case moved forward, according to the ACLU of Massachusetts, which is part of Öztürk’s legal team.
A spokesperson for the ACLU of Massachusetts did not immediately make clear Öztürk’s immigration status following the completion of her Ph.D. or whether she plans to return to Turkey.
Foreign students studying in the United States under an F-1 visa generally have 60 days to leave the country after they complete their program, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The Trump administration previously said it targeted Öztürk because of her criticism of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. That entailed an op-ed for the Tufts University student newspaper that Öztürk authored about the university’s response to the student government’s stance on Israel’s war in Gaza.
In her social media post, Öztürk said she is “holding a moment to celebrate this joy as a new beginning to work even harder, turning years of research, volunteering, and teaching into meaningful change for children, youth, and communities.”
“I hope this news brings some joy to all who need to hear it,” she said. “As an important side note, I would like to be called Dr. Öztürk, not Miss Öztürk, from now on.”