On Wednesday, a federal appeals court agreed with a judge's order to bring a Turkish student from Tufts University back to New England from a detention center in Louisiana. This is so there can be hearings to find out if her rights were broken and if she should be let go.

In a decision that rejected a government request for postponement, the three-judge panel of the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Rumeysa Ozturk after considering arguments during a hearing on Tuesday. Ozturk's presence in Louisiana extends beyond six weeks, stemming from a co-authored op-ed published last year which took issue with the institution's handling of Israel's conflict in Gaza.

The court mandated Ozturk's transfer to ICE custody in Vermont by May 14.

The court stated that Ozturk's immigration court proceedings, which commenced in Louisiana, are being handled independently and he has the option to participate via remote means.

A judge in a Vermont district court had ordered that the 30-year-old student doing a doctorate should be brought to the state for hearings to find out if she was held illegally. Ozturk’s lawyers say that holding her goes against her rights under the constitution, such as the right to speak freely and the right to a fair legal process.

The initial deadline was May 1st; subsequently, a hearing regarding her bail motion was scheduled in Burlington for Friday, followed by a further hearing on May 22nd.

The Justice Department, which disagreed with that decision, said that the immigration court in Louisiana has the power to handle Ozturk’s case. The appeals court stopped the transfer order last week while it thought about an urgent request from the government. But on Wednesday, the court did not agree to the request for a longer delay.

The appeals court did not agree that the Vermont court was the wrong place for Ozturk's request to be let go. It also said the government did not prove that there would be "irreparable injury." The court stated that Ozturk's need to be at the Vermont hearings in person is more important than the government's costs for administration and logistics.

The government maintains that facilitating Ozturk's remote attendance at her immigration proceedings in Louisiana would pose challenges, yet it has not contested the legal and practical feasibility of her participation in removal proceedings via remote means.

An email requesting comment was sent to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

On March 25, immigration officials apprehended Ozturk on a street in a Boston suburb, subsequently transporting her through New Hampshire and Vermont before her flight to a detention facility in Basile, Louisiana. Her legal representatives stated she had not been apprised of the revocation of her student visa several days prior.

Ozturk's lawyers first filed a request for her in Massachusetts, but they didn't know where she was and couldn't talk to her until more than 24 hours after she was arrested. Later, a judge in Massachusetts moved the case to Vermont.

The government now contends that this transfer was improper; however, the appeals court asserted that this argument lacks merit.

Last year, Ozturk and three other students wrote an opinion piece in the campus newspaper, The Tufts Daily. They criticized how the university dealt with student activists. These activists wanted Tufts to 'acknowledge the Palestinian genocide,' show its investments, and stop investing in companies connected to Israel.

A memo from the State Department said Ozturk's visa was cancelled after they decided her actions "could hurt U.S. foreign policy by making a bad environment for Jewish students and showing support for a terrorist group." This included writing an article with a group that was later temporarily stopped from being on campus.

In March, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security stated, without giving proof, that investigations had found that Ozturk was involved in activities supporting Hamas, which the U.S. considers a terrorist group.

"It is unacceptable for individuals to face arrest and detention solely based on their political opinions," stated Esha Bhandari, a legal representative for Ozturk. "Each day Rumeysa Ozturk endures imprisonment is a day too many. We appreciate that the court rejected the government's effort to keep her estranged from her community and legal counsel as she proceeds with her bid for freedom."