On Tuesday, a federal appeals court refrained from making an immediate ruling as it tackled jurisdictional complexities in the cases involving two international students arrested by immigration officials. The students in question are Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Ph.D. candidate at Tufts University currently detained for over six weeks, and Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student at Columbia University who was recently freed from custody. The judicial panel of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York assessed motions filed by the U.S. Justice Department concerning these cases. These motions oppose previous decisions made by federal judges in Vermont.
The Justice Department contends that Ozturk should remain in a detention center in Louisiana and avoid being transported to Vermont, asserting her case falls under Louisiana’s jurisdiction. Additionally, they argue that Mahdawi should be detained once more. They further seek to consolidate both cases as they involve analogous legal issues. However, immigration court proceedings for each student are being addressed independently.
In a significant development, a Vermont district court judge ruled that Ozturk must be brought to Vermont by May 1 to evaluate the legality of her detention, which her legal team claims violates her constitutional rights, impacting her freedom of speech and right to due process. Esha Bhandari, representing Ozturk, emphasized to reporters after the hearing that, “She’s a cherished member of the Tufts community… and she should be released to continue her academic commitments.”
Last week, the appeals court temporarily halted the Vermont judge’s order to review the government’s argument that jurisdiction lies with Louisiana. Ozturk was apprehended on March 25 by immigration officials while walking in a Boston suburb. After her arrest, she was transported through New Hampshire and Vermont before being sent to a detention center in Basile, Louisiana. Her legal team initially encountered obstacles locating her and were unable to communicate with her until over a day after her detention, with the case eventually being transferred from Massachusetts to Vermont.
During the appeal hearing, the panel questioned the Justice Department’s attorney, Drew Ensign, about the delay in informing Ozturk’s legal representation of her whereabouts. Ensign cited “operational security concerns” as the reason. The judges also addressed allegations regarding the failure to correctly identify Ozturk’s “immediate custodian” in her plea, a term usually referring to the direct overseer of a detainee. Ozturk’s attorneys had named Patricia Hyde, director of ICE enforcement in Boston, as the custodian, whereas Ensign suggested it should have been the warden of the Vermont facility, even though Ozturk was only in transport at the time.
Judge Susan Carney expressed concern over the manner of Ozturk’s arrest, describing it as a situation where “people who are not in uniform and who were masked and hooded” apprehended her, resembling “private actors.” Ozturk, 30, gained attention after co-writing an opinion piece in Tufts University’s newspaper critiquing the institution’s response to student activists’ demands related to Palestine and Israel.
A statement from the Department of Homeland Security in March ascribed, without providing evidence, Ozturk’s arrest to alleged activities supporting Hamas. Meanwhile, the Justice Department is also contesting a judge’s order freeing Mahdawi from Vermont’s custody on April 30. As an activist leading protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza, Mahdawi’s arrest occurred during an immigration interview concerning his citizenship application.
The appeals court judges scrutinized Ensign’s claims, asking whether such governmental decisions truly resulted in “irreparable harm.” Judge Carney speculated on the nature of harm in cases where government actions are deemed sovereign injuries, potentially impeding the authority to deport. Furthermore, Judge Barrington Parker Jr. inquired about the government’s stance on whether the speech implicated in both students’ cases was protected, receiving no definitive position from Ensign.
Mahdawi, 34, has been a legal permanent resident for a decade and was detained starting April 14. U.S. District Judge Geoffrey Crawford highlighted in his release order that Mahdawi appeared to have been detained to “stifle speech” not aligned with the government’s views. Mahdawi’s release now permits him travel beyond Vermont and participate in his upcoming graduation in New York. Having completed his coursework at Columbia, he anticipates beginning a master’s program there in the upcoming fall semester.