Mankato international student sues feds after surprise ICE arrest
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An international student at Minnesota State University, Mankato alleges in a lawsuit filed Friday that immigration authorities illegally arrested him and continue to detain him because of his outspoken opposition to Israel's war in Gaza.
According to court documents, immigration agents David Whereatt and Jacob Henkemeyer arrested Mohammed Hoque outside his apartment on March 28 after supervisor Michael Hyland issued an warrant for his arrest.
Hoque has been held in the Freeborn County Jail ever since, and said he is in pain from complications of abdominal surgery and missed an April 2 appointment with his Mayo Clinic physician.
Hoque, 20, who is from Bangladesh, argues in a federal lawsuit that the government is detaining him in violation of his First and Fifth Amendment rights “for retaliatory and punitive purposes” because of his outspoken support for Palestinian human rights. Hoque has been studying in the United States since 2021.
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Hoque said he participated in peaceful protests at the MSU campus and has shared posts and media coverage on social media documenting incidents of violence against Palestinians in Gaza.
“The truth is that they are trying to scare people like me into being silent about our political views about Palestine and what has happened in Gaza because they don’t agree with it,” Hoque writes in an affidavit. “They are also trying to scare other students by arresting me and telling them their F-1 [student] visas are revoked.”
The Department of Homeland Security argues that Hoque “poses a threat to U.S. public safety” because of a 2023 disorderly conduct conviction. Hoque pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count after pushing a man during an argument. No one was injured, and Hoque completed his probation.
But Hoque counters that while the case was pending in June of 2023, he flew home to Bangladesh to visit family and immigration authorities did not deny him reentry even after questioning him about the incident upon his return to the United States.
“Had the criminal charges been grounds for visa revocation or termination, Mr. Hoque would not have been permitted to reenter the United States,” his attorneys write.
Hoque also said in his lawsuit that he's dealing with pain from complications of recent abdominal surgery and missed an appointment with his doctor because he's in jail.
In March 2024, a friend accidentally shot Hoque with a BB gun. The BB lodged in Hoque’s kidney and surgeons had to remove part of his pancreas. After the operation, he developed sepsis and a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection as well as hernias.
Hoque, a practicing Muslim, said ICE agents arrested him while he was headed home from class to prepare for Friday prayers.
“When I left the parking lot, this vehicle began aggressively following me, even cutting in front of other traffic to stay behind me,” Hoque writes. “When I arrived at my house, multiple vehicles surrounded me. Two men in plain clothes approached me and one said they were with DHS and that my visa had been revoked. They did not show me any warrant, badge or visa revocation papers.”
Hoque said the agents handcuffed him and placed chains around his waist, “which made me nervous and uncomfortable as my hernias were located near the chains.”
American Civil Liberties Union-Minnesota legal director Teresa Nelson, who is one of Hoque’s attorneys, said in a statement that it appears that the termination of Hoque’s and other international students’ visitor status is part of a nationwide pattern by the Trump administration.
“We do not have a full picture of who has been targeted; however, it appears that the main targets are people from Middle Eastern, South Asian and Asian countries who have minor or no criminal convictions, which would not ordinarily lead to termination of their SEVIS status,” Nelson said.
The agents initially took Hoque from Mankato to Fort Snelling, where Minnesota’s immigration court is located.
On April 9, an immigration judge ruled that Hoque “was not a danger” to people or property and ordered him released on $7,500 bond. Hoque’s attorneys said DHS immediately imposed a stay of the bond order, forcing their client to remain in detention.
At a subsequent hearing on April 16, DHS “presented no additional evidence” in support of removing Hoque from the country, his attorneys write.