A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore Tufts PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk’s status in the system used to track foreign students, clearing the way for her to work on campus again. Judge Denise Casper granted the injunction after finding that Ozturk was likely to prove that ICE unlawfully terminated her record the same day masked agents detained her in March. Removing her from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System effectively barred her from employment, and Ozturk said she hoped no one else would face what she went through.

Her arrest in Somerville was recorded in a viral video that drew sharp criticism from civil rights groups. She was detained after the State Department revoked her visa under a policy aimed at targeting non-citizens involved in pro-Pales-tinian activism. The only reason given for the revocation was an editorial she co-authored a year earlier that criticized her university’s response to Israel’s war in Gaza. She spent 45 days in detention before another federal judge ordered her release, finding she had raised a serious First Amendment retaliation claim.

After returning to Tufts, Ozturk resumed her studies but was blocked from teaching or research work because her SEVIS record remained terminated. Her lawyers argued the delay was jeopardizing her academic progress as she neared graduation. Casper agreed, noting the administration had offered shifting and irrational explanations for stripping her status, even while acknowledging she had complied with all student visa rules.