On Monday, U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III transferred the motion concerning Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) record from the District of Vermont to the District of Massachusetts.
Öztürk’s legal team is seeking preliminary injunctive relief to restore her SEVIS record, which was terminated on March 25, following her F-1 visa’s revocation by the State Department.
The termination of this record prevents individuals with nonimmigrant student visas from securing employment, and her attorneys argue that restoring the record is crucial for her recovery from “irreparable harm.”
The federal government contended that Öztürk’s motion should not have been filed in Vermont, as both she and her attorneys reside in Massachusetts.
They further asserted that the SEVIS restoration motion should be treated separately from the habeas corpus petition concerning Öztürk’s arrest.
Following her arrest, Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) terminated her SEVIS record within hours due to the revocation of her visa.
If this relief motion is granted, Öztürk’s SEVIS record would be restored back to its original status as of the termination date, March 25.
SEVIS, operated by the Department of Homeland Security, is a web-based system designed to track and monitor nonimmigrant students and their visa status while in the U.S.
Sessions stated that the claims regarding SEVIS would be judged independently from the ongoing habeas corpus case, which challenges Öztürk’s arrest as a violation of her First Amendment rights.
On May 23, Öztürk’s lawyers filed a motion to have her SEVIS record restored, which has remained inactive since her release on bail from ICE custody on May 9.
In the May 23 motion, Öztürk’s legal team pointed out that, in the interim period from March to May, numerous courts have favorably restored SEVIS statuses for various students.
These restorations were made upon findings that ICE had arbitrarily and unlawfully terminated the records without proper notice.
Her attorneys argued that without a restored SEVIS record, Öztürk would face significant consequences, including an inability to work, which would deprive her of essential financial support.
In response to the motion on June 2, the federal government argued for dismissal of the SEVIS claim based on improper venue since neither Öztürk nor her attorneys were located in Vermont.
They insisted that the SEVIS issue was unrelated to the habeas corpus petition and that the Immigration and Nationality Act restricted the Vermont court’s jurisdiction over the SEVIS motion.
Additionally, the government maintained that ICE’s termination of Öztürk’s SEVIS record was justified, given the revocation of her visa and the initiation of removal proceedings.
In the order, Sessions expressed that either dismissing the claim outright or having Öztürk refile her claims would only cause delays in reaching a resolution.
He noted that transferring the claim back to Massachusetts would likely ensure a quicker resolution, preventing the technicality from hindering justice.
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