US immigration court blocks deportation of Tufts graduate student from Turkey, her attorneys say

An immigration court blocked the deportation of a Turkish Tufts University graduate student who was detained by immigration officials near her Massachusetts home, her attorneys said in court documents filed Monday.

Rümeysa Öztürk's attorneys said the immigration court found on Jan. 29 that the Department of Homeland Security hasn’t proved that Öztürk should be removed from the U.S.

The immigration court also terminated Öztürk’s removal proceedings, the attorneys said in a letter to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has been reviewing her case.

The department has the option to appeal the immigration court's decision, the notice from her attorneys said.

Öztürk is a PhD student studying children’s relationship to social media. She was arrested last March while walking down a street as the Trump administration began targeting foreign-born students and activists involved in pro-Palestinian advocacy. She had co-authored an op-ed criticizing her university’s response to Israel and the war in Gaza.

Video showed masked agents handcuffing her and putting her into an unmarked vehicle.

A petition to release her was first filed in federal court in Boston and then moved to Burlington, Vermont. Öztürk has been out of a Louisiana immigrant detention center since May and back on the Tufts campus outside Boston.

A federal judge said Öztürk raised serious concerns about her First Amendment and due process rights, as well as her health. The federal government appealed her release to the 2nd Circuit.

Öztürk's attorneys told the 2nd Circuit that the government may try to detain their client again if it appeals the immigration court's decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

The Department of Homeland Security didn't immediately return an email message seeking comment.

Öztürk said it was heartening to know that some justice can prevail.

“Today, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that despite the justice system’s flaws, my case may give hope to those who have also been wronged by the U.S. government,” she said in a statement released by her attorneys.

FILE - Tufts University doctoral student Rumeysa Ozturk reads from a prepared statement following a court hearing outside the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry will sit out the All-Star Game in Los Angeles because of his troublesome right knee that sidelined the Golden State Warriors star for a fourth straight game Monday night against Memphis.

Coach Steve Kerr announced before the game that Curry also wouldn't play Wednesday at home against San Antonio and then would sit out the All-Star Game on Sunday in hopes of a return for the Warriors after the break.

“He's doing well,” Kerr said. “It's really kind of a day-to-day thing, so it's hard to predict for sure whether he'll be playing in that first game after the break but that's definitely the hope, and if he is, if he can get through everything this week, then that puts him on pace to be playing.”

Golden State's first game after the break is Feb. 19 against Boston at Chase Center.

Curry, who will turn 38 on March 14, exited early from a 131-124 home loss to the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 30 with the sore knee that Kerr said had been bothering him over the previous week. He then had an MRI exam.

Curry missed his 15th game overall this season, with the Warriors going 5-9 over the initial 14 — three with an illness, five with a left quadriceps contusion, one with a sore right ankle, one with a sprained left ankle, one with inflammation in his right knee and now four with the patellofemoral pain syndrome.

The Warriors are also missing Curry's backcourt mate, Jimmy Butler, who underwent surgery Monday for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee sustained against his former Miami team on Jan. 19.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry stands at the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies in San Francisco, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

Stephen Curry arrives at the premiere of "GOAT" on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, at AMC Century City 15 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry watches action from the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)