Pressley, Markey, McGovern Conducted Check In with Öztürk at Louisiana ICE Facility in April 2025, Welcomed Her Home Following Release from ICE Detention

Pressley Has Stood in Vigorous Defense of Immigrant Communities in MA 7^th and Nationwide, Fighting to Bring Detained Neighbors Home

Rep. Pressley’s Social Media Post

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued a heartfelt message saying goodbye to her constituent, Rümeysa Öztürk, a Somerville resident and PhD graduate who has chosen to return to her home country, Turkey, after being unlawfully detained and subjected to inhumane conditions by the Trump Administration in retaliation for her protected speech.

In April 2025, Congresswoman Pressley, Sen. Markey, and Rep. James P. McGovern traveled to ICE facilities in Basile and Jena, where Rümeysa Öztürk and Mahmoud Khalil were being unlawfully detained. In May 2025, at her request, the lawmakers welcomed Ms. Öztürk at Logan Airport following her release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in Louisiana.

The Congresswoman’s social media post is here and the text of her message is available below:

“Rumeysa, saying goodbye is deeply bittersweet. From the moment we met behind the wall, I felt an immediate kinship with you. Even in the midst of trauma, fear, and uncertainty, your light shone through. You spoke first not about yourself, but about the women detained alongside you—carrying their stories in your heart and in carefully written notes, like the brilliant researcher you are.

What Donald Trump and his administration subjected you to is a shameful injustice, and it will always be a stain on American history. Like so many, you were criminalized for exercising your First Amendment rights. You were incarcerated for seeing the dignity and humanity of the Palestinian people. And you were forced to endure unspeakable trauma as part of their coordinated attempt to intimidate, instill fear, and rip away the fundamental rights of everyone who calls this country home.

But despite it all, you persevered. You pressed forward, finishing your studies and contributing to our community through your scholarship, advocacy, and humanity.

You deserved so much better.

Thank you for everything you gave to our Commonwealth and country, and for the courage and compassion you showed in even the darkest moments. Please know that the Massachusetts 7th will always be your home, and I will be forever proud to call you my constituent and fight for your rights.”

Photo credit: Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s Office

Following Öztürk’s abduction and detention, Congresswoman Pressley, along with Senator Markey, Ranking Member Bennie Thompson, Congressman Jim McGovern, and Congressman Troy Carter sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seeking more information on the detention conditions of immigrants held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center (CLIPC) and the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center (SLIPC) after an oversight trip to the facilities.

On May 7, 2025, Pressley, Markey, and McGovern applauded the Second Circuit for ordering Rümeysa’s transfer from ICE custody in Louisiana to Vermont and rejecting the Trump administration’s attempt to delay complying with a lower court order to do so.

In a powerful New York Times op-ed, Pressley, Markey, and McGovern discussed their meeting with Ms. Öztürk in detention and warned the American people of the dangers posed by the Trump administration’s unlawful attacks on our constitutional rights to freedom of speech and due process. Full text of the op-ed is available here.

Rep. Pressley, along with Sens. Warren and Markey, have pushed for answers and action since Öztürk’s March arrest. In March 2025, they led over 30 lawmakers in writing to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons, demanding information about Öztürk’s arrest and detention as well as similar incidents across the country.

In April 2025, the lawmakers sounded the alarm on Öztürk’s medical neglect in DHS custody and renewed urgent calls for her release. Pressley, Warren and Markey demanded Secretary of State Rubio released any documents related to her arrest after a recent report indicated that an internal State Department memo concluded that the key premise underlying Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk’s arrest and detention was false. Congresswoman Pressley issued a statement condemning reports that ICE arrested and detained Rümeysa Öztürk, an international student with legal status in a graduate program at Tufts University. 

In the Massachusetts 7^th, Rep. Pressley has recognized and supported the many families torn apart and children suffering from the detention of a loved one—including harrowing attacks on Massachusetts families in their daily lives, abductions of dedicated workers at the Allston car wash, pushing to bring Rümeysa Öztürk home, and more.

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