Updated April 24.
On Thursday, Judge William K. Sessions III denied the government’s Tuesday motion to appeal the court’s decision that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers must transfer Rümeysa Öztürk back to Vermont no later than May 1.
“At the outset, the Court notes that the government’s motion largely recycles the same arguments that the Court has previously considered and rejected,” Judge William K. Sessions III wrote, finding that government counsel is not likely to succeed on the merits of its arguments.
Öztürk’s return is in the interest of her access to sufficient medical treatment as well as in consideration of her religious practices and her ability to participate in future proceedings, Sessions wrote.
“Any unnecessary delay of Ms. Öztürk’s transfer to this District would likely disrupt or delay the Court’s proceedings, potentially prolonging the very detention that is at the heart of this case,” Sessions wrote.
Updated April 22.
On Tuesday evening, the Department of Justice filed an appeal to Sessions’ Friday order.
U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III ordered on Friday that Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk be moved to Vermont no later than May 1 from Louisiana where she is currently detained. Sessions concluded that the Vermont district court holds jurisdiction to consider Öztürk’s request for habeas relief.
“The Court denies the government’s request to dismiss the Petition and orders that Ms. Ozturk be transferred to ICE custody within the District of Vermont pending further hearings on this matter,” Sessions wrote in the 74 page decision.
Sessions determined that Öztürk’s legal counsel cannot be faulted for “improper” filing of her immediate custodian in her habeas petition, which the government argued was reason enough for the petition to be dismissed.
In the ruling, Sessions considered the arguments made by Öztürk’s legal counsel concerning the violation of Öztürk’s First and Fifth Amendment rights. Though Öztürk’s legal counsel “presented viable and serious habeas claims which warrant urgent review,” Sessions wrote that the court has not yet been provided with enough evidence by the government to determine the violation of her constitutional rights and subsequent immediate release.
“The Court finds that Ms. Ozturk’s physical return to ICE custody within the District of Vermont is in the interest of justice because transfer would assist the Court’s exploration of the important constitutional questions in this case, would allow the Court to conduct appropriate fact-finding including to support a potential bail hearing, and would otherwise have no impact on removal proceedings,” Sessions wrote.
Öztürk’s transfer to Vermont would also allow her to receive “neutral medical evaluation,” according to Sessions, which would further support the court’s evaluation of her condition while it considers the question of her release and bail.
Sessions ordered a hearing for Öztürk’s bail on May 9, with Ozturk to appear in person, and a hearing on the merits of the habeas petition on May 22. Sessions’ decision follows a federal immigration judge in Louisiana’s denial of bond for Öztürk on Wednesday in separate immigration proceedings.
This is a developing story.
