A federal judge in Vermont on Friday released on bail a Turkish Tufts University student detained in a Louisiana immigration center more than six weeks after she was arrested while walking along a street in a Boston suburb.
U.S. District Judge William Sessions in Burlington released Rumeysa Ozturk pending a final decision on her claim that she has been illegally detained.
Ozturk, detailing her growing asthma attacks in detention and her desire to finish her doctorate degree focusing on children and social media, appeared at a bail hearing remotely from the Louisiana center.
Lawyers for Ozturk, 30, said her detention violates her constitutional rights, including free speech and due process.
Ozturk was released Friday on her own recognizance with no travel restrictions, Sessions said. He said she is not a danger to the community or a flight risk, but that he might amend his release order to consider any specific conditions by ICE.
Sessions said he didn't think electronic monitoring would be in order, and that she would also check in with a staffer of the Burlington Community Justice Center for supervisory checks.
The U.S. Justice Department said an immigration court in Louisiana, which is conducting separate removal proceedings regarding Ozturk, has jurisdiction over her case.
Sessions ordered Ozturk's transfer to Vermont, where she was last confined before she was taken to Louisiana. The government requested a delay, but a federal appeals court upheld his decision Wednesday, ordering Ozturk to be transferred to ICE custody in Vermont no later than May 14.
Sessions decided not to wait for the transfer, going ahead with the bail hearing.
Ozturk waived her right to appear at the hearing in person, agreeing to participate remotely.
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