Doctoral Student of Trump Deportation Victims Choose to Return to Their Home Country

Doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk (Ist)

JAKARTA - A doctoral student who was targeted for deportation under President Donald Trump chose to return to his home country, Turkiye, citing "violence and hostility committed by the country he was facing in the United States.

Rumeysa Ozturk made the announcement through the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Friday, after a nearly year-long legal battle with the Trump administration.

"The time stolen from me by the US government not only belongs to me, but also to the children and adolescents to whom I have dedicated my life to advocate," said Ozturk, who received a PhD in child studies and human development in February.

Ozturk's case is one of the most high-profile examples of the Trump administration seeking to punish foreign students for their pro-Palestinian advocacy.

Video surveillance of Ozturk's arrest went viral in late March 2025, showing six plainclothes immigration officers suddenly surrounding him on the street outside his apartment in Massachusetts, as he went to break his Ramadan fast.

The video shows an officer first grabbing Ozturk's hand, who was then 30 years old, pushing him to scream. As he was handcuffed, a concerned passerby questioned the officer, who was wearing hoodies, sunglasses, and a mask: "How do I know this is the police?"

Ozturk has no criminal record. He appears to have been targeted for his decision to co-sign an opinion column in his student newspaper, The Tufts Daily, with three other students.