Tufts University has “no information to support” the arrest of graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk, a native of Turkey who was apprehended by masked immigration enforcement agents in Somerville last week, and school officials called for her “release without delay,” according to court documents filed Wednesday.
“The university has no information to support the allegations that she was engaged in activities at Tufts that warrant her arrest and detention,” President Sunil Kumar said in a four-page affidavit entitled “Declaration of Tufts University” filed in federal court in Boston.
Kumar joined 21 professors, faculty members, and advisors, from both Tufts and Turkey, as well as Öztürk’s fellow PhD students, lab mates, colleagues, and friends, who submitted signed declarations attesting to the 30-year-old Fulbright Scholar’s gentle nature, generous spirit, and indelible presence in Tuft’s department of child study and human development.
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The 71-page legal filing was made one day after the federal government filed its response to a lawsuit seeking Öztürk’s release from immigration custody.
The affidavits collectively called for Öztürk’s prompt release from immigration detention in Louisiana and swift return to Tufts where she is nearing the end of her program and is entering the intensive dissertation phase. The affidavits speak to Öztürk’s deep humanity, serious scholarship and positive contributions to the Medford campus.
In her dissertation, Öztürk wants to explore how adolescents and young adults use social media in positive and prosocial ways, the court documents said. She holds a quiet passion for children and would like to author children’s books, the legal filings said.
Öztürk’s detention has been denounced by leaders and students in Massachusetts. Protesters rallied outside the the JFK building in Boston Tuesday, including members of the Tufts Grad Workers Union — of which Öztürk is a member. Separately, more than 100 rabbis from Massachusetts signed a letter calling for her release and criticizing the Trump administration.
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The university’s affidavit said that an op-ed that Öztürk coauthored in the university’s student paper last spring, criticizing Tufts’ response to the pro-Palestinian movement and calling for divestment from Israel, did not violate university policies or generate complaints and was consistent with the school’s freedom of expression policy.
International students, staff, and faculty are vital to the university’s mission, the affidavit said, as is their free movement, but Öztürk’s detention has had a chilling effect with some foregoing opportunities to speak at international conferences.
“In the worst cases, many report being fearful of leaving their homes, even to attend and teach classes on campus,” the affidavit said.
Öztürk, a third-year doctoral student, was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security on March 25 as she left her off-campus apartment in Somerville to attend an Iftar dinner, hosted by the Tufts Interfaith Center, where she would break her Ramadan fast for that day, according to the affidavit.
Öztürk’s sudden absence from campus, where she is regarded as an innovative thinker and disciplined researcher, a dedicated volunteer, a participant in the interfaith friendship program, and an organizer of community art nights and anti-racism poetry festivals, has created a profound void, the legal filings said.
“She is prosocial to the core of her being,” Sara K. Johnson, associate professor and director of graduate studies in Tufts’ Department of Child Study and Human Development, wrote in her affidavit. “She always does things to benefit other people, including those who may come from different backgrounds than she does.”
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Öztürk is usually game for a gym date, an exchange of soup recipes, or a cup of tea. She is always the first to reach out when a loved one dies, always remembers the vegans at potluck gatherings, and always prefaces questions with “may I kindly ask,” court documents said.
She is “someone who never wants to impose themselves on others,” Julie Dobrow, distinguished senior lecturer at Tufts, wrote.
“We should all be more like Rümeysa,” W. George Scarlett, also a distinguished senior lecturer at Tufts, wrote in his affidavit.
Lynn Cooper, Tufts’ Catholic chaplain, wrote that Öztürk’s “critical contributions to her field and our community cannot be overstated.”
“Rümeysa Öztürk is a thoughtful and conscientious human being who has been a gift to Tufts University,” Cooper’s affidavit said. “Her absence has caused deep anguish among so many whose lives she has touched. I urge the court to please release Rümeysa Öztürk and return her to her home and our shared community.”
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.