Northeast
Tufts University declares support for student detained by ICE, seeks immediate release
A federal court hearing in Boston on Thursday examined whether it had jurisdiction over the case of a Tufts University doctoral student from Turkey, detained by immigration authorities, as the university voiced support for the pro-Palestinian advocate.
The hearing was held in Boston federal court to determine if the habeas corpus petition on behalf of Rümeysa Öztürk was filed in the correct jurisdiction. Judge Denise Casper said she needed time to “wrestle” with the issue of jurisdiction and come to a decision.
The hearing came as the president of Tufts University filed a declaration in support of a motion filed in federal court by Öztürk, who is accused of supporting Hamas.
Öztürk was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 26 in Somerville, Mass., after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked her visa. A DHS spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital that Öztürk was “granted the privilege to be in this country on a visa.”
VIDEO SHOWS ARREST OF TUFTS UNIVERSITY STUDENT FOR ALLEGEDLY SUPPORTING HAMAS
Rümeysa Öztürk, a 30-year-old doctoral student at Tufts University, is detained by Department of Homeland Security agents on a street in Somerville, Mass., on Tuesday, March 25. (AP)
Öztürk’s Massachusetts attorney accused the U.S. government of “forum shopping,” saying that ICE moved the student to Louisiana, where courts might be less favorable towards her case.
The attorney said she was denied access to a lawyer during her move to Louisiana and said that transfer was not standard practice.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office argued that federal authorities moved Öztürk to Louisiana because there was no available room in Massachusetts to hold her until trial. They said that she was first sent to Vermont, but later moved to Louisiana.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have arrested a Tufts University graduate student. (Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe)
The DHS spokesperson said that investigations by DHS and ICE “found Öztürk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.”
“Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is commonsense security,” the spokesperson added.
ICE DETAINS TUFTS UNIVERSITY STUDENT AMID TRUMP ADMIN’S CRACKDOWN
Tufts University President Sunil Kumar said in the declaration of support that the institution has “no information” that supports the allegations from DHS and ICE.
“The University has no information to support the allegations that she was engaged in activities at Tufts that warrant her arrest and detention. The University has seen an outpouring of support for Ms. Öztürk over the last week from Tufts students, faculty and staff. These individuals have described Ms. Öztürk as a valued member of the community, dedicated to her academic pursuits and committed to her colleagues,” Kumar wrote.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News on Wednesday that Öztürk had been “granted the privilege to be in this country on a visa” and that “DHS and ICE investigations found Öztürk engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.” (AP)
Kumar added that the university had received a notice on March 25 that Öztürk’s visa was canceled because she was a “non-immigrant status violator” of the Immigration and Naturalization Act. The notice went on to say that Öztürk’s presence in the United States could result in “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Kumar asked the federal judge to release Öztürk “without delay.”
Öztürk’s legal team previously told Fox News that the student had a valid F-1 visa before her arrest and said that no charges have been filed.
The legal team representing Öztürk told Fox News she had valid F-1 visa status prior to her arrest. (Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe)
U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani granted a habeas petition on March 25 requesting that Öztürk not be removed from the District of Mass.; however, the student had already been removed at that point.
In March 2024, Öztürk co-authored an op-ed in the Tufts Daily, calling on the university to divest from Israel.
Read the full article from Here
The remote Washington County town of Topsfield voted Thursday to close its five-student school, opting to send a shrinking student population elsewhere.
Residents voted 42 to 18 to shutter the East Range II School after high costs began to drive students from out of town elsewhere, bringing the number of students down from 25 in 2023 to the small total it has today. Turnout was robust in a town with only about 175 residents and 130 registered voters.
School district officials projected that the school, which had once served pre-K through eighth grade but would have been left only with pre-K through early elementary school students, would teach no more than seven students at a time over the next five school years. They also expected it would cost nearly $500,000 per year to keep the school open.
“I had no idea how the vote was going to go,” Eastern Maine Area School System superintendent Amanda Belanger said Friday. “I’m glad that a decision has been made and that we can move forward.”
The school board will finalize the closure plan and weigh what to do about the staff at East Range, at a meeting on May 7. The school would have likely had only one full-time teacher working there next year. That teacher, Paula Johnson, said she wasn’t sure what she would do if the school closed. She has worked there for 11 years.
Students will now likely be bused from Topsfield to schools in Princeton or Baileyville, about 30 minutes south. East Range will close at the end of this school year. After that, the town will take over the property.
It’s not clear what will become of the building. At an April meeting to discuss the future of the school, some residents were already speculating about whether it could turn into a senior center or similar community facility.
The result of Thursday’s vote was not unexpected. Many residents at the April meeting said they could not afford the taxes required to keep the school open. They will still have to pay for maintenance of the building but that cost is expected to be much lower than the cost of maintaining the school.
Taxpayers will also have to continue to pay for students, but the cost of busing kids out of town is also expected to be much lower than maintaining the local school.
The NBC10 Boston Investigators have been uncovering so-called professional tenants for years now, and now we’re getting a behind-the-scenes look at the reporting process on perhaps the most shocking story yet.
Ryan Kath joins JC Monahan on this week’s Just Curious with JC to discuss a story that is drawing attention from thousands — the story of an elderly Boston resident trapped inside her own home with the “tenant from hell”.
An elderly homeowner reached out to the NBC10 Investigators about her ordeal with a tenant living on the first floor of her property in Dorchester. Despite not paying rent, it took more than a year and numerous housing court appearances to get an eviction.
Since airing in April, the story has struck a nerve with tens of thousands of people, highlighting the broad scope of the issue.
See the full interview to learn how the story came to be, and what the reception has been, in the player at the top of this story and on NBC10 Boston’s YouTube channel.
New Hampshire
Theatre Productions | End Of Life Options | Storytimes | Open Studio: The Londonderry NH Patch Weekender
LONDONDERRY, NH — Here is the latest roundup of events posted on Patch sites around New Hampshire.
Event listings are free on one Patch site. You can share your calendar listing on other community sites for a modest fee, starting at 25 cents per day. To get started, visit the Events link on the front page of all Patch sites. Statewide calendar roundups are published on most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Saturday
Opening Day! Concord Farmers’ Market (Capitol Street, Concord)
Find out what’s happening in Londonderryfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Craftworkers’ Guild Spring Shop Opens This Week! (Bedford)
The Power of Angels! (Treasures Antiques, Collectables & MORE!, Amherst)
Find out what’s happening in Londonderryfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
End of Life Options in the Live Free or Die State — a talk by Rebecca Brown (Wilmot Public Library)
Multi-Family Yard Sale (3 Chase St., Concord)
Storytime Stations at the Heights (Heights Branch Library, Concord)
Talking Dirty in Rollins Park (Concord)
Concord Writers Group (Concord Public Library)
May The 2nd Be With You (Concord Public Library)
Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem (Saint Paul’s Church, Concord)
“To Kill a Mockingbird” (Concord City Auditorium)
Purple Sage Pottery Open Studio Sale (Merrimac, Massachusetts)
FREE Introduction to Digital Photography class (May 9: C1M Photography LLC, Amherst)
Great Bay Food Truck Festival (May 9: Stratham Hill Park)
It’s Alive Stuffy Puppets (May 15: Epping Elementary School)
Stuffed Animal Puppets- It’s Alive for Adults! (May 16: Epping Elementary School)
Bedford Garden Club Annual Plant Sale (May 16: Joppa Hill Educational Farm, Bedford)
GSBC’s FREE Annual Memorial Day Pig Roast (May 25: Granite State Baptist Church, Concord)
Graduation Parties — Open House (May 27: Lanam Club Inc, Andover, MA)
Introduction to AI — Free, in-person class (May 30: C1M Photography, LLC, Amherst)
Great Island Garden Club Plant Sale (May 30: New Castle Recreation Center, New Castle)
Diamonds in the Ruff Gala (May 31: Event Center, Nashua)
Do you have a news tip? Email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella’s YouTube or Rumble channels. Patch in New Hampshire is now in 217 communities — and expanding every day. Also, follow Patch on Google Discover.
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