Tufts urges community to report sightings of immigration officials after agents spotted near campus

"Yolanda Smith, chief of the university's police department, told students and staff in an email that the campus' Department of Public Safety was "actively monitoring the situation in coordination with our municipal partners in Medford and Somerville." Smith cited reports of "recent federal immigration enforcement activity" nearby but did not give specific details. Anyone who encountered immigration officials "on or near campus" was urged to call campus police. They also referred community members to their Office of University Counsel website, which included information about their protocols regarding federal agents."

""Tufts has a well‑defined process for responding to government officials who arrive on campus without prior notice," Smith said in the email. "Tufts Public Safety remains alert and engaged across all campuses, following robust protocols designed to safeguard our community." The community warning came just over 10 months after Rümeysa Öztürk, a graduate student at the university, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Somerville. After being held in a Louisiana detention center for 45 days, she was released under the orders of a federal judge in Vermont."

Officials at Tufts University urged the community to report sightings of immigration officials after alerts about federal activity near campus. Yolanda Smith, chief of the university's police department, told students and staff that the Department of Public Safety was actively monitoring the situation in coordination with municipal partners in Medford and Somerville. Smith cited reports of recent federal immigration enforcement activity nearby but did not provide specific details. Community members who encounter immigration officials on or near campus were instructed to call campus police and consult the Office of University Counsel website for protocols. The warning followed a recent ICE detention of graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk, who was held for 45 days before a federal judge ordered her release and whose international student record was later reinstated.

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