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Minnesota News
Hannah Yang

Marshall man whose student visa was revoked remains detained

A baby reads a book
Aditya Harsono, 33, of Marshall was detained by ICE agents after his F-1 student visa was revoked. His attorney Sarah Gad believes Harsono was targeted for his political beliefs rather than the misdemeanor charge he received in 2022.
Courtesy of Peyton Harsono

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A Marshall, Minn., man was back in immigration court Thursday appealing the federal government’s effort to deport him back to his home country of Indonesia. 

Aditya Harsono, 33, appeared virtually from Kandiyohi County Jail for his hearing at Fort Snelling Immigration Court. The Department of Homeland Security want to deport Harsono for allegedly overstaying his F-1 student visa that was revoked without his knowledge.

It was revoked based on a criminal background check revealing a misdemeanor conviction for property damage and a dismissed citation from protesting the 2021 police killing of Daunte Wright. 

In an exclusive interview with MPR News, Harsono shared that he believes his arrest was politically motivated because of the dismissed protest charge. 

“They still wanna put me in jail for cases already closed, and it’s not fair,” Harsono said previously. “It’s like buying a ticket to the cinema, and you sit down to have popcorn, to watch the movie, and someone comes up to me, ‘Hey, your tickets are invalid, and you gotta leave the theater right now.’ It’s very corrupt and unfair.” 

Harsono’s attorney Sarah Gad argued that Harsono’s detainment was illegal and requested that the removal proceedings be terminated. 

However, Judge Sarah Mazzie said the U.S. Department of State revoked the visa and concluded that she does not have “judicial review” to terminate removal proceedings.

“I simply think that the law does not give me the authority,” Mazzie said. “It’s not within my purview to weigh in on the legality or the permissiveness of the Department of State’s decision to revoke the respondent’s visa. That’s strictly within the purview of the federal district courts.”

Exchanges between Gad and Mazzie grew heated over Harsono’s detainment. Gad stated that Harsono is eligible for a green card through his marriage to his wife who’s a U.S. citizen and the two have been married since October 2023. She also shared that Harsono has two pending applications that were expedited. 

“I understand you’re making an argument with an eye toward fairness, and I understand that the respondent has garnered a significant amount of media attention, and I understand there are very sympathetic circumstances in his case,” Mazzie said. “The most hefty factor is that the respondent is detained at government expense. My termination of the case would be inappropriate.”

Gad stated that Harsono’s “unlawful detention” creates more challenges that prevent him from being able to continue the legal process. 

“Somebody has to answer this question as to whether or not he should be granted the ability to seek the relief that he is clearly eligible for,” Gad said. “The only thing standing in the way of that is his unlawful detention.”

However, Mazzie disagreed and stated the legality of Harsono’s detainment wasn’t something for her to decide. 

“What court has ruled that it's unlawful detention?” Mazzie replied. “What court in the United States has ruled that his detention is unlawful?” 

Gad told MPR News on Wednesday that she and other attorneys were filing a habeas corpus petition — a legal request to a federal court — challenging the legality of Harsono’s detention and asking the court to order his release.

“I do believe we would prevail in that, because aside from him being detained he’s here lawfully and has a clear path to permanent lawful residency and it’s just his detention that is standing in the way,” Gad said. “That’s the thing that we need to try to figure out is how to get him out of detention so he can have the application adjudicated and he can just be with his wife and his family, and continue just being a contributing, productive, law-abiding member of society that he’s always been while he’s been in the United States.”

At least two other students were arrested by ICE: Doğukan Günaydın, studying at the University of Minnesota and Mohammed Hoque, studying at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Other Minnesota international students have also experienced visa revocations or terminations.

The U.S. government reversed the termination of legal status for international students nationwide after many filed court challenges against the Trump administration. Some Minnesota saw their statuses restored. 

Harsono’s hearing continues on May 29 at 1:30 p.m.