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Government lawyers claim that a Massachusetts federal court lacked the authority to review U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement’s decision to detain a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University as they moved her to three states, according to court documents filed Tuesday evening.

Representing President Trump and senior immigration officials, prosecutors said Rümeysa Öztürk was in Vermont at the time a federal judge in Boston ordered she not be moved from Massachusetts and argued in their recent filing “one way or another, this Court lacks jurisdiction over this matter.�

Öztürk is currently being held at a detention center in Basile, Louisiana. Her visa was on March 21. Four days later, six plainclothes immigration officers in an unmarked SUV near Tufts� campus in Somerville at about 5:15 p.m. Prosecutors said in Tuesday’s filings that Öztürk was taken to Methuen, then to Lebanon, New Hampshire, and arrived at the ICE field office in St. Albans, Vermont, at 10:28 p.m.

The timeline is significant. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts issued an order that Öztürk not be moved from the state at 10:55 p.m. that same night. By then, ICE said she was already in another state.

At 4 a.m. the next day, ICE took her to the Burlington International Airport and flew her to Alexandria, Louisiana, arriving at 2:35 p.m. She then was locked up in a processing center in Basile.

In a statement to WBUR, ACLU attorney Brett Max Kaufman said “the government is trying to play a cruel game of jurisdictional musical chairs with Ms. Öztürk’s life, and her rights and freedom hang in the balance.�

Öztürk’s attorneys have said she was detained in retaliation for exercising her First Amendment rights. A year ago, Öztürk  published in the Tufts student newspaper that criticized the university’s response to student efforts demanding the school disclose and sever its relationships with companies that held ties to Israel.

“From day one, Rumeysa’s rights have been violated by the Trump administration simply because of her op-ed advocating for human rights and dignity for all,� said Öztürk’s attorney Mahsa Khanbabai. “We will continue to advocate for her freedom until she is safely released and back home where she belongs.�

In addition to providing new details about Öztürk’s transport, prosecutors said ICE officials had to move her to Louisiana because there was no room in New England.

“Prior to the arrest, [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] determined that there was no available bedspace for [Öztürk] at a facility within the New England region where she could be detained and still appear for a hearing in Immigration Court,� prosecutors wrote in a response to a complaint from Öztürk’s attorneys.

Prosecutors argued that district courts generally do not have jurisdiction to review ICE decisions to arrest, detain, and remove individuals like Öztürk, citing prior court rulings.

They say Öztürk can only challenge the revocation of her visa, her arrest and detention before an immigration judge.

WBUR’s Patrick Madden contributed to this report.

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