INTERNACIONAL
Turkish grad student who co-authored anti-Israel op-ed at Tufts self-deports after legal battle with DHS
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Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University medical graduate student from Turkey whose charges were dropped after DHS detained her for allegedly «[engaging] in activities in support of Hamas,» has self-deported to Turkey, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Ozturk self-deported from the U.S. late Thursday night on a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, according to sources familiar.
Ozturk was detained by ICE in Somerville, Massachusetts, in March 2025, sparking a battle between the Trump administration and a federal judge over her detainment.
The Tufts graduate student was living in the U.S. under an F-1 student visa, which the Trump administration revoked around March 21, 2025. At the time her visa was revoked, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration were cracking down on student visas for students who were involved in protests and demonstrations regarding Israel and Palestine.
JUDGE WHO BLASTED TRUMP AS ‘AUTHORITARIAN’ BLOCKS US FROM DEPORTING PRO-PALESTINIAN CAMPUS ACTIVISTS
Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay in Cernay-la-Ville, France, on March 27, 2026. (Thomas Trutschel/Photothek)
«After 13 years of dedicated study, I am very proud to have completed my Ph.D. and to return home on my own timeline,» Ozturk said in a statement. «The time stolen from me by the U.S. government belongs not just to me, but to the children and youth I have dedicated my life to advocating for. With them in mind, I am choosing to return home as planned to continue my career as a woman scholar without losing more time to the state-imposed violence and hostility I have experienced in the United States – all for nothing more than co-signing an op-ed advocating for Palestinian rights.»
Ozturk co-authored an opinion piece on March 26, 2024 that was published in Tufts Daily, a student newspaper on campus.
«Credible accusations against Israel include accounts of deliberate starvation and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians and plausible genocide,» the op-ed read.
The authors, including Ozturk, were critical of the university’s response to anti-Israel protests, saying that the university should publicly acknowledge Palestinian suffering.
Rubio specifically referenced opinion pieces in a statement surrounding the revoking of student visas, notably after the arrest of Ozturk on March 25, 2025.
DHS SAYS COLUMBIA STUDENT TAKEN INTO CUSTODY IS ILLEGAL ALIEN WHOSE VISA WAS TERMINATED UNDER OBAMA ADMIN
«If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why you’re coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus — we’re not going to give you a visa,» Rubio said.
Trump’s Department of Justice also weighed in on Ozturk’s self-deportation.
«Attending elite colleges and universities in the United States is a privilege afforded to foreign students who respect our values and follow our laws,» a DOJ official told Fox News. «Rümeysa Öztürk chose not to abide by those simple conditions, and as a result left the United States – something the Administration sought to accomplish from the beginning. We will continue to seek the deportation of any foreign student who abuses their opportunity to study in America by engaging in vile antisemitism, harassment, or other illegal behavior.»
Following Ozturk’s arrest, she was transferred to Methuen, Mass., then Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Vermont before she was sent to the South Louisiana ICE processing facility, according to reports.
Protests erupted at Tufts and across the country over her arrest, and two months later she was released on bail.
ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATOR MAHMOUD KHALIL ONE STEP CLOSER TO DEPORTATION WITH IMMIGRATION BOARD RULING
Rumeysa Ozturk on an apple-picking trip in 2021. (AP Photo) (AP)
The legal battle continued between the Trump administration and Ozturk, who was legally represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), until Feb. 9 when Biden-appointed Boston immigration Judge Roopal Patel terminated deportation proceedings.
Patel ruled that the Department of Homeland Security lacked the legal grounds to deport her.
«I grieve for the many human beings who do not get to see the mistreatment they have faced brought into the light,» Ozturk said in a statement released by her attorneys after the ruling. «When we openly talk about the many injustices around us, including the treatment of immigrants and others who have been targeted and thrown in for-profit ICE prisons, as well as what is happening in Gaza, true justice will prevail.»
THE US GOVERNMENT TARGETED ME FOR MY POLITICAL SPEECH. IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, TOO
The Trump Department of Justice fired Patel, among other immigration judges, last week.
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters outside the Oval Office at the White House on April 13, in Washington, D.C., after declining to apologize for remarks criticizing Pope Leo XIV. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Since Patel ruled as an immigration judge and not a federal Article III judge, the Trump administration and the executive branch has authority over her tenure.
The White House issued a press release on April 9, titled: «Era of Amnesty Is Over: President Trump Restores Rule of Law to Immigration Courts,» in which the administration touted «the most aggressive and successful immigration enforcement overhaul in modern history.»
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«President Trump promised to end the open borders nightmare — and he is delivering on that promise with unrelenting force. The era of catch-and-release, mass releases, and activist judicial amnesty is over,» the White House statement reads.
homeland security, deportation, amnesty, immigration, immigrant rights
INTERNACIONAL
Honduras condena ataques contra Kuwait y Bahréin y pide evitar una mayor escalada en Oriente Medio
El Gobierno de Honduras condenó los ataques atribuidos a la República Islámica de Irán contra el Estado de Kuwait y el Reino de Bahréin. A través de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores y Cooperación Internacional, expresó su solidaridad con ambos países, sus condolencias a las familias de las víctimas y su preocupación por las consecuencias humanas y materiales.
La administración hondureña difundió su posición oficial en medio de llamados de distintos gobiernos a la moderación ante el riesgo de una escalada en Oriente Medio.
“La República de Honduras expresa su firme condena a los ataques atribuidos a la República Islámica de Irán contra el Estado de Kuwait y el Reino de Bahréin, que han puesto en riesgo la vida y la seguridad de la población civil de ambos países”, señaló el Gobierno en su posicionamiento oficial.
Además de condenar los ataques, el Gobierno hondureño reiteró principios de su política exterior vinculados con el respeto a la soberanía de los Estados, la integridad territorial y la solución pacífica de las controversias.
Las autoridades señalaron que la enfrenta el desafío de evitar una nueva escalada de violencia en una región que durante décadas ha sido escenario de conflictos políticos, militares y religiosos con repercusiones globales.
Para Honduras, la preservación de la paz y la estabilidad internacional requiere el fortalecimiento de los mecanismos diplomáticos y del diálogo entre las partes involucradas.
En ese sentido, el comunicado oficial hizo un llamado urgente a la contención e instó a todos los actores a actuar con prudencia para evitar decisiones que puedan incrementar las hostilidades o ampliar el alcance del conflicto.
Los hechos ocurridos en Kuwait y Bahréin generaron preocupación entre gobiernos, organismos multilaterales y analistas internacionales por el delicado equilibrio político existente en Oriente Medio.
La región concentra intereses estratégicos vinculados con el comercio mundial, las rutas energéticas y la seguridad internacional, por lo que cualquier episodio de confrontación suele ser seguido con atención por la comunidad global.
Aunque Honduras se encuentra geográficamente distante del escenario del conflicto, la Cancillería considera que la paz y la seguridad internacionales son responsabilidades compartidas y que hechos de esta naturaleza requieren una respuesta firme en defensa de los principios establecidos por el derecho internacional.
Uno de los puntos del pronunciamiento hondureño fue la reafirmación de su compromiso con los principios consagrados en la Carta de las Naciones Unidas.
El Gobierno recordó que la convivencia pacífica entre las naciones debe sustentarse en el respeto mutuo, la cooperación internacional y la búsqueda de soluciones negociadas ante cualquier controversia.
También reiteró que el uso de la fuerza y las acciones que ponen en peligro a la población civil deben evitarse mediante el fortalecimiento de los canales diplomáticos y el cumplimiento de los compromisos internacionales asumidos por los Estados.
El mensaje de Honduras incluyó una expresión de solidaridad hacia Kuwait y Bahréin, cuyos gobiernos atraviesan momentos de incertidumbre tras los recientes acontecimientos.
Las autoridades hondureñas señalaron que comparten el dolor de las familias afectadas por la violencia y reiteraron su respaldo a las acciones encaminadas a proteger a la población civil y restablecer las condiciones de seguridad.
El pronunciamiento también reflejó la preocupación por las consecuencias humanitarias que suelen derivarse de los conflictos armados, especialmente cuando impactan zonas urbanas o infraestructura esencial para el funcionamiento de los servicios públicos.
Politics,Top News,Europe
Senate scraps border and ICE funding vote
Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on the pushback against President Donald Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization fund’ on ‘The Bottom Line.’
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President Donald Trump’s nearly $70 billion immigration enforcement package has entered uncertain waters as the Senate embarks on a marathon of votes that could blow up the legislation.
At the heart of the issue is the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) now-defunct nearly $2 billion «anti-weaponization» fund. It’s another rare instance where both sides of the aisle are frustrated with the administration, and it could spell doom for the broader bill.
That’s because Democrats and Republicans are lining up amendments to ensure the fund is dead, to varying degrees.
GOP ADVANCES ICE FUNDING PACKAGE AFTER FORCING TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND INTO RETREAT
President Donald Trump listens to members of his Cabinet during a meeting in the White House Cabinet Room in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 2026. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Senate Republican leadership is hopeful that they can prevent those amendments from surviving during the newly launched «vote-a-rama,» but success isn’t guaranteed. One positive for the GOP is that every Republican voted for the package in its first procedural hurdle Wednesday afternoon.
«I feel good going into it,» Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. «But, you know, you got a lot of conversations with our members [who] understand what’s at stake, how critical it is that we defeat amendments that would be corrosive to the bill or undermine in any way its privilege.»
One issue is that should an amendment targeting the fund pass, it could remove the reconciliation package’s ability to advance with just a simple majority of votes. That would effectively give Democrats a win in killing the package outright.
Whether the amendments will be considered under a simple majority or 60-vote threshold could change the landscape and will ultimately be up to the Senate rules referee to determine whether they comply with the Byrd rule, which undergirds the reconciliation process.
GOP DEMANDS TRUMP KILL CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND BEFORE REVIVING ICE FUNDING PACKAGE
Republicans believed that those add-ons would hit that 60-vote mark, giving them a little bit of breathing room.
«I mean, you never know with 100% accuracy,» Thune said. «There are a lot of creative ways of drafting amendments, but we feel pretty confident that most of those would be at 60.»
The fund, announced last month as part of a settlement between the Trump family and the Internal Revenue Service, received strong pushback from Republicans who feared that without proper guardrails, people convicted of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill could access the taxpayer funds.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., whose main job is to wrangle and twist the arms of wary Republicans to vote for the package, put the primary blame on Senate Democrats as fractures in the GOP simmered.
GOP LEVERAGES ICE FUNDING PACKAGE TO MAKE TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND ‘NEVER EXIST’
«The Democrats continue to talk about everything they want to talk about, except actually securing the border and protecting the American people,» Barrasso said. «They’re gonna come with all sorts of things, all in an effort to delay our efforts to support the American people and keep them safe and secure.»
But there are Republicans who will have their own anti-weaponization fund amendments. So far, Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., two lawmakers who are increasingly prone to break with Trump, have teed up add-ons to address the fund.
There is the option to deal with the fund outside of reconciliation, too.
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Cassidy, who Trump successfully just ousted from office, didn’t say which route he would prefer, but wanted «something which just makes it sure that somebody doesn’t change their mind in the White House, it doesn’t come back.»
Tillis contended that there were enough Republicans with concerns over the fund that something needed to be done, but wanted it to be a GOP-led initiative. He’s not picky about whether his amendment gets a shot either.
«I don’t care about my own personal amendment,» Tillis said. «There’s a few out there, as long as one touching on the issue gets there. I’m not gonna slow leadership down. I wouldn’t do anything to make it as corrosive to the underlying bill so that it loses privilege. But we gotta do this.»
politics, homeland security, republicans, senate elections, democrats senate, donald trump
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