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ICE says Dems. spread ‘baseless’ accusations as Öztürk ordered returned to Vermont
Lawmakers who visited Rümeysa Öztürk at a detention center this week accused ICE of denying proper medical care to detainees.
Developments surrounding the case of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk, who is being detained by ICE, continued apace this week.
On Thursday, a federal judge ruled that immigration officials must transport Öztürk back to Vermont by May 1, despite objections from the government.
The same day, ICE responded to three lawmakers from Massachusetts who said they had uncovered “harrowing” conditions at the ICE detention center where Öztürk is being kept in Louisiana. The agency called those accusations “baseless.”
On Friday, The New York Times published an op-ed written by those lawmakers. Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Rep. Jim McGovern equated Öztürk’s arrest with tactics used by authoritarian leaders in foreign countries, and again raised concerns about the treatment of detainees in the Louisiana facility.
PREVIOUSLY:
Öztürk was surrounded by masked, plainclothes ICE agents on a Somerville sidewalk last month and whisked into an unmarked vehicle. She was brought on a circuitous route through New Hampshire, Vermont, and eventually to Louisiana that night as her lawyers remained in the dark about her location.
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After her arrest, federal officials asserted that Öztürk is a supporter of terrorists and that she brought disorder to the Tufts campus in Medford. They only cited an op-ed she co-authored in the school’s newspaper criticizing how administrators were responding to the situation in Israel and Gaza.
Those that know Öztürk, who is pursuing her PhD in child and human development, say that she is a kind and quiet academic who is far from antisemitic and did not play a major role in last year’s protest activity. She has not been charged with a crime, but her student visa was revoked.
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For weeks, Öztürk has been held at a detention center in Basile, La. It is operated by Geo Secure Services, a for-profit company contracted by the federal government. Markey, Pressley, and McGovern traveled there earlier this week to speak with Öztürk. They also visited detained Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil at a nearby facility.
Judge orders return to Vermont
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge William Sessions ruled last week that Öztürk must be returned to Vermont no later than May 1. There, she will be able to contest that the government violated her constitutional rights and that her detainment was illegal.
The government appealed Sessions’ first ruling, arguing that Öztürk should be kept in Louisiana. Sessions therefore had to issue a new ruling Thursday.
Öztürk’s transfer to Vermont will have no impact on the government’s separate removal proceedings against her in immigration court. An immigration judge denied her bond recently, arguing that she is both a flight risk and a danger to her community. Öztürk will have the opportunity to seek her release on bail in federal court in Vermont.
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Sessions ruled that Öztürk has presented “viable and serious habeas claims which warrant urgent review” in his initial decision last week.
“Any unnecessary delay of Ms. Öztürk’s transfer to this District would likely disrupt or delay the Court’s proceedings, potentially prolonging the very detention that is at the heart of this case,” he wrote in the ruling issued Thursday.
Officials raise concerns
At a press conference inside Logan Airport this week, Markey, Pressley, and McGovern tore into the Trump administration’s “authoritarianism” and spoke about the facilities they saw. They said detainees told them about inadequate healthcare, a lack of nutritional meals, and frigid conditions.
In their New York Times op-ed, they reiterated those worries.
“Inside the detention center, she was inadequately fed, kept in facilities with extremely cold temperatures and denied personal necessities and religious accommodations. She suffered asthma attacks for which she lacked her prescribed medication. Despite all this — and despite being far away from her loved ones — we were struck by her unwavering spirit,” they wrote.
The lawmakers compared Öztürk’s arrest to the imprisonment of Belarusian political activist Maria Kolesnikova. After she gained prominence as a vocal opponent of the Kremlin-backed government in Belarus, authorities there attempted to deport Kolesnikova and later arrested her. She is serving an 11-year sentence and resurfaced last year after going 20 months without communications to the outside world.
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“Disappearances like Ms. Kolesnikova’s are disturbingly common under authoritarian regimes where dissent is quashed and the rule of law is more fiction than fact. That a similar scene would unfold in Somerville in March 2025 as part of the Trump administration’s revived immigration crackdown should send a chill down the spine of every American,” they wrote.
ICE responds
Officials from ICE issued a lengthy statement Thursday night after Markey, Pressley, and McGovern held their press conference. Much of the agency’s statement responds to allegations that women are being denied adequate medical treatment in the facility where Öztürk is being held.
In recounting her meeting with Öztürk, Pressley said that she was told about pregnant women and those with health conditions, including cancer, not getting the treatment they need.
ICE said that the accusations had no merit and were merely a way to discredit those working at the facility. Officials insisted that the agency engaged with the congressional delegation in good faith only to be targeted by those that traveled with the lawmakers, accusing members of the ACLU of filming ICE personnel without consent and therefore jeopardizing their safety.
The full statement sent by an ICE spokesperson to members of the media appears below:
Allegations that ICE misrepresented the presence of pregnant women at one of our detention facilities during a recent congressional delegation visit are unequivocally false. ICE personnel provided a comprehensive overview of medical care processes and services available to all detainees, including specialized care for pregnant women. In fact, the Basile facility has a Women’s Health Specialist on staff, and members of the delegation personally met with a pregnant detainee for over an hour during their visit.
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These accusations are not only baseless but appear to be a deliberate attempt to discredit the dedicated professionals who uphold ICE’s mission with integrity and care. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement categorically rejects the false narrative that individuals in our custody are denied access to adequate medical care or nutritious food. Such claims are misleading, undermine public trust, and misrepresent the reality of the high standards our personnel uphold daily.
ICE remains steadfast in its commitment to the health, safety, and dignity of all individuals in our custody. From initial intake, detainees receive comprehensive medical screening within 12 hours and have access to 24/7 medical services, including mental health care, dental care, chronic disease management, and emergency treatment. Nutrition is also a priority—meals are developed by licensed dietitians to meet or exceed national dietary standards and accommodate medical and religious needs.
Our facilities are routinely inspected and held to rigorous federal standards, with oversight from independent bodies to ensure transparency and accountability. Spreading misinformation about the conditions in ICE detention facilities does a disservice to the public and the dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to provide humane, lawful care.
“To suggest that ICE attempted to mislead elected officials is not only offensive—it slanders the professionalism of our personnel,” said Mellissa Harper, New Orleans Field Office Director. “Our team engaged in good faith, expecting an impartial oversight mission. Instead, the delegation arrived accompanied by ACLU staff and media who filmed ICE personnel without consent—jeopardizing their privacy and safety. These tactics do nothing but endanger hardworking Americans.”
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ICE supports congressional oversight and is committed to transparency. We take seriously our responsibility to provide accurate information to Congress and the public. Our focus remains on delivering lawful, humane treatment to all detainees—including pregnant individuals—in full compliance with agency policy and federal law.
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