Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish PhD student at Tufts University, was arrested by plainclothes federal agents on a Somerville sidewalk last week.

The mystery surrounding Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk's whereabouts after she was picked up by federal immigration agents has shocked many — and is now complicating her legal proceedings. Why it matters: The case's question about jurisdiction — typically a granular area of court proceedings — could affect how ICE detains foreign-born residents and how it communicates about detentions in the future.

The case to free a Tufts PhD student and vocally pro-Palestine Turkish national after she was detained last week took a step forward in court Thursday, with the defense and government contesting

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security accused Ozturk, a Turkish national, of "activities in support of Hamas."

Ahead of a Boston court hearing scheduled Thursday regarding federal immigration agents' detainment of a Tufts University student, the school called for her release.

After being picked up in Massachusetts, Rumeysa Ozturk was moved to a detention center in Louisiana, where the government wants to argue its case to deport her.

Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student, was arrested in Massachusetts and sent to the South Louisiana ICE processing center in the swamplands of Evangeline parish in Basile. Sending detainees to the cluster of remote immigration detention centers known as “Detention Alley” in the south is a common practice.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk in Somerville, Massachusetts, according to the agency and a statement the school.

Tufts University is calling for grad student Rumeysa Ozturk to be “released without delay” after ICE agents grabbed her off a Somerville street.