Minnesota Graduate Student Files Lawsuit for Release from ICE Detention
A graduate student from the University of Minnesota has initiated a legal action seeking his immediate release from the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He asserts that his arrest was a violation of his rights and was executed with minimal justification, as outlined in court documents submitted this week.
Doğukan Günaydın, a 28-year-old Turkish national, was apprehended by plainclothes federal agents on Thursday while leaving for class from his residence in St. Paul.
The legal filing indicates that “Doğukan feared he was being abducted as a man dressed in a hooded sweatshirt seized him and put him in handcuffs.”
Hannah Brown, the primary attorney for Günaydın, did not reply to NTD News’ request for comments regarding the arrest, and the Justice Department also did not provide a response.
The lawsuit declares that authorities detained Günaydın for several hours without adequate explanation, apart from stating that his F-1 student visa was “retroactively revoked.” The petition claims that online records indicate his visa termination occurred approximately seven hours post-arrest.
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“Detaining students who have come here legally to study and work hard does not equate to being tough on immigration,” Walz commented. “We need explanations.”
This situation has garnered the attention of other Minnesota officials, including Democratic U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, who have requested clarifications from federal agencies.
State court records indicate that Günaydın had previously been arrested in Minneapolis in 2023 for erratic driving. At the time, a preliminary breath test indicated his blood alcohol level at 0.2 percent, significantly above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. A follow-up test conducted at the jail measured 0.17 percent approximately 90 minutes after his arrest.
Günaydın pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor for drunk driving, served four days in custody, and was instructed to complete one day of community work. He incurred fines and court costs totaling $528, as stated in court records.
His lawsuit argues that a drunk driving conviction does not constitute valid grounds for the cancellation of a student visa, referring to the Department of Homeland Security’s list of reasons for visa termination. The petition notes that Günaydın holds no other criminal records apart from a speeding violation in 2021 from his undergraduate studies at St. Olaf College.
Following his conviction, Günaydın was accepted into the Carlson School of Business at the university with a scholarship and has maintained a strong academic record while engaged in a full course of study.
Currently, Günaydın is held at Sherburne County Jail in Elk River, where he was informed of an immigration hearing scheduled for April 8, but his petition mentions that he had yet to receive any formal charging documents or notice of hearing at the time of filing.
“In the absence of a charging document, Mr. Günaydın and his counsel remain uninformed about the basis for his detention,” his lawyer conveyed in the petition.
“No justification was provided. The University has not received any communication from ICE, nor have they requested any information from us,” Inch stated in a letter to the campus community.
The State Department indicated earlier this month that it would revoke the visas of noncitizens identified as potential threats to national security or foreign policy interests.
“The United States has a strict policy against allowing foreign visitors who support terrorist activity. Those violating U.S. law, including international students, may face visa denial or revocation,” a spokesperson conveyed to NTD News.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
From NTD News
