Tufts President Sunil Kumar Addresses Student Detention By ICE
India-West News Desk
BOSTON, MA – The March 25 detention of Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has added to the growing concerns over the Trump administration’s immigration policies that have increasingly affected international students. This incident follows similar actions at institutions like Columbia, Brown, Cornell, and Georgetown universities that included two Indian Americans who also faced deportation threats.
Sunil Kumar who became Tufts’ 14th president in 2023, is the first person of color to hold the office. He addressed Ozturk’s apprehension, emphasizing the university’s lack of prior knowledge and ongoing efforts to understand the situation. In an email to the campus community, Kumar stated that Ozturk was a Turkish national and PhD student at Tufts.
Kumar noted that the university was informed that Ozturk’s visa status had been terminated but had no pre-existing knowledge of the incident or involvement in the federal authorities’ actions. “The university had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event, and the location where this took place is not affiliated with Tufts University,” he said. He added that the university was actively seeking further details on the cause and circumstances of her apprehension.
Highlighting Tufts’ protocols regarding federal enforcement actions, Kumar assured the community, “The university has an established protocol for responding to government agents who arrive on campus (or off-campus) for an unannounced site visit, which starts with a call to campus police.”
The Trump administration has rolled back policies that previously protected schools and universities from unannounced enforcement actions, making academic institutions a focal point for immigration crackdowns.
Kumar, an accomplished academic leader, he previously served as provost at Johns Hopkins University and dean of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. With the detention of an international student now impacting Tufts, Kumar’s response underscores the broader concerns around student visa policies.
