A doctoral student at the University of Tufts in a visa was arrested by immigration authorities outside Boston on Tuesday night, according to school and student’s lawyer.
The student, Rumeysa Ozturb, is a Turkish citizen, according to her lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai.
“Rumeysa Ozturb is a Turkish citizen who maintained a valid F-1 status as a doctoral student at the University of Tufts,” Khanbabai said in a statement. “Rumeysa was aimed at meeting with friends to break his fast from Ramadan on the night of March 25 when he was arrested near his home in Somerville, ma by DHS agents.”
“To date, no charges have been filed against Rumeysa that we know. I presented a habit request requesting that it was not transferred outside the MA district, which was granted by the judge [Indira] Talwani last night, “according to his lawyer.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesman for the National Security Department said: “Rumeysa Ozturb is a postgraduate student at the National University and Tufts of Tufts, granted the privilege of being in this country in a visa. And support the terrorists who kill Americans is a reason for the issuance of visas.
ABC News has communicated with the application of immigration and customs.
Ozturb appears in the ICE database as “in custody” and seems to be carried out in an ice processing center in Basile, Louisiana.
In a new statement to ABC News on Wednesday night, Khanbabai said he just found out “his client had been sent to Louisiana.
“More than twenty -four hours after his arrest, Rumeysa has not yet been prosecuted in his final detention center and during all this time, I have not been able to talk to my client,” he said.
On Tuesday, a federal judge issued an order that prohibits DHS from removing Ozturb from the Massachusetts district without giving the advanced notification of the court. It is not clear when it was transferred to Louisiana.
In an email to the students on Tuesday, the school said it was reported that its visa was “finished” and is trying to get more information.
A Community Day Flag on the University of Tufts campus.
Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe through Getty Images
“The University had no prior knowledge to this incident and did not share any information with the federal authorities before the event, and the place where this took place is not affiliated with the University of Tufts,” the school wrote.
“From what we have been told later, the student’s state of visa has been completed, and we seek to confirm if that information is true. The university does not have additional information at this time about the cause or circumstances of the student’s apprehension and tries to learn more about the incident,” he continued in part.
“After the university protocol, the University Advisor Office will help connect the student with external legal resources if the individual requests our assistance,” he added.
Armando García de ABC News contributed to this report.
