Judge denies government appeal to stop transfer of detained Tufts student back to New England

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A federal judge has denied the government’s appeal to stop the transfer of a Tufts university student back to Vermont.

Rümeysa Öztürk is currently being held in immigration custody in Louisiana after being detained by ICE in Massachusetts in March.

Last week, the same judge ordered her to be returned to Vermont.

But in Thursday’s ruling, the judge wrote the government’s motion to stay had repeated the same arguments he had already considered and rejected.

The ruling notes Öztürk’s return to Vermont would lead to a quicker resolution of petitions filed by her attorneys including a release on bail and legality of her detention.

A bail hearing is set for May 9.