Federal Court Orders Trump Administration to Restore SEVIS Student Record for R眉meysa 脰zt眉rk
Preliminary injunction allows Ms. 脰zt眉rk to fully re-engage with all the opportunities of her PhD program
BOSTON 鈥� A federal district court today issued a preliminary injunction ordering the federal government to restore R眉meysa 脰zt眉rk鈥檚 SEVIS student record, which was unlawfully terminated in March by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The court held that Ms. 脰zt眉rk was likely to succeed on her claim that the termination was arbitrary and capricious, and therefore violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
SEVIS is a database administered by ICE and used to track foreign students, including those in F-1 student status like Ms. 脰zt眉rk. The reactivation of the SEVIS record will allow Ms. 脰zt眉rk to participate in employment and research experiences that are integral to her graduate studies.
"My student SEVIS record was unlawfully canceled by the government for co-authoring an op-ed in which I advocated for equal dignity and humanity for all 鈥� and after eight long months, that record will now finally be restored,鈥� said R眉meysa 脰zt眉rk. 鈥淕oing through this brutality, which began with my unlawful arrest and 45 days of detention at a shameful for-profit ICE prison in Louisiana, I feel more connected to everyone whose educational rights are being denied 鈥� especially in Gaza, where countless scholars have been murdered and every university has been intentionally destroyed. Here in the US, it is truly sad how much valuable knowledge is currently being lost due to the widespread fear of punishment within the academic community. I hope one day we can create a world where everyone uses education to learn, connect, civically engage and benefit others 鈥� rather than criminalize and punish those whose opinions differ from our own. While I am grateful for the Court's decision, I still feel a great deal of grief for all the educational rights I have been arbitrarily denied as a scholar and a woman in my final year of doctoral studies. Nonetheless, this decision gives me hope, and I earnestly hope that no one else experiences the injustices I have suffered."
In 2024, Ms. 脰zt眉rk co-wrote an op-ed in the Tufts Daily, her student newspaper, encouraging the administration to listen to the student body鈥檚 demands about the war in Gaza; a year later, the Trump administration arrested and detained her in retaliation for her speech. She was held in a for-profit ICE facility in Louisiana for 45 days before a federal judge released her on bail this spring.
鈥淓very day that Ms. 脰zt眉rk鈥檚 SEVIS record remained terminated was a day that the government continued to punish her for her constitutionally protected speech,鈥� said Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts. 鈥淎fter months of this unlawful, and unfair, treatment, we are grateful that her student record will now be reinstated. Ms. 脰zt眉rk came to Massachusetts as a scholar to study childhood development and the media, and we all benefit when she is able to fully participate in her doctoral program.鈥�
鈥淚 am ecstatic that Rumeysa鈥檚 F1 SEVIS student record will finally be restored after the Trump Administration鈥檚 unlawful termination,鈥� said Mahsa Khanbabai of Khanbabai Immigration Law. 鈥淭his administration continues to weaponize our immigration system to target valued members of our communities by secretly revoking validly issued visas, terminating status without a lawful basis, and detaining people in inhumane for-profit ICE prisons. Our immigration laws should not be manipulated to silence students and scholars who advocate for an end to the Palestinian genocide. I look forward to the day when we have a just and impartial immigration court and the end of government overreach violating our First Amendment rights.鈥�
The restoration of her SEVIS record is one important step toward justice for Ms. 脰zt眉rk. Her habeas case, which challenges her arrest and detention, is pending in the federal district court in Vermont. The government鈥檚 appeal of that court鈥檚 transfer order is pending before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ms. 脰zt眉rk is represented in federal court by the 老熟女午夜福利, the ACLU of Massachusetts, the ACLU of Vermont, Mahsa Khanbabai of Khanbabai Immigration Law, The CLEAR Project at CUNY School of Law, and the law firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP.
Read the order .
Free Speech
Immigrants' Rights
脰zt眉rk v. Trump
Free Speech
Immigrants' Rights
脰zt眉rk v. Trump
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