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Crime, Law and Justice
Matt Sepic
Minneapolis

Judge demands answers from immigration officials over U student’s detention

University of Minnesota, Protest
Nicholas Maryns holds a sign during rally organized by AFSCME Local 3800 and the University of Minnesota Graduate Labor Union outside Northrop Auditorium on Monday.
Kerem Yücel | MPR News

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A federal judge in St. Paul on Wednesday gave immigration officials two days to say why they're detaining a University of Minnesota graduate student.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Doğukan Günaydin outside his St. Paul home on March 27.

After Günaydin filed suit against ICE, President Donald Trump, and other government officials, U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko ordered the government to explain why it’s continuing to keep Günaydin jailed. Micko wrote that the government’s answer should include documentation “to establish the lawfulness and correct duration of Doğukan G.’s detention.”

Günaydin, 28, is studying for a master’s degree at the Carlson School of Management and received his bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Monday that Günaydin was arrested “after a visa revocation” related to a drunk driving conviction.

But in the lawsuit, immigration attorney Hannah Brown argues that the visa revocation is invalid in part because agents arrested Günaydin seven hours before DHS revoked his permission to remain in the United States. She also argues that the DWI conviction is not a legal basis to deport her client.

Hennepin County court records show that a police officer arrested Günaydin on June 24, 2023 in downtown Minneapolis and found that he had a blood alcohol concentration of more than twice the legal limit for driving. Günaydin pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor DWI charge in March 2024.

According to the lawsuit, Günaydin “was left waiting for hours on end without access to his family, friends or attorney” after officers stripped him of his phone and belongings and took him to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in St. Paul.

Brown writes that her client “feared he was being kidnapped,” and was held for days in the Sherburne County Jail without being told, either verbally or in writing, of any immigration charges against him.

On Wednesday, basic information about an immigration case filed against Günaydin appeared on a Justice Department website, indicating that DHS has initiated removal proceedings. Günaydin has a hearing before an immigration judge scheduled for Tuesday morning.