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Turkish student detained by ICE sues for immediate release, questions visa revocation

PTI |
Apr 02, 2025 04:49 AM IST

The student said he was held for several hours after his arrest without being told why, except that his F-1 student visa was “retroactively revoked.”

A University of Minnesota graduate business student who's being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is suing for his immediate release, saying his arrest violated his rights and he's been given little explanation for why he's being held.

A student from the University of Minnesota is suing ICE for supposedly illegally detaining him and revoking his visa(REUTERS)

The lawsuit filed this week on behalf of Dogukan Günaydin, 28, a Turkish citizen, says two plainclothes federal officers arrested him on the street outside his St. Paul home while he was on his way to class Thursday.

Also Read: US cracks down on international students, hundreds receive self-deportation emails over campus activism: Report

“Dogukan feared he was being kidnapped as a man in a hooded sweatshirt grabbed him and handcuffed him,” according to his petition.

The lawsuit partially comports with a statement issued Monday by the Department of Homeland Security that he was arrested because he had a conviction for drunken driving on his record. The federal agency said he was not detained for any political activity. His petition says Günaydin has attended no protests and has written no politically driven publications.

Also Read: Did US deport Sikhs without turbans, women in shackles? America answers India's query

His attorney, Hannah Brown, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday, nor did Justice Department and State Department officials in Washington.

Elected officials in Minnesota -- including Gov. Tim Walz and US Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith -- have been demanding an explanation from Homeland Security officials.

“Snatching up students who come here legally to work hard and get an education does not make you tough on immigration,” Walz tweeted. “We need answers.”

Also Read: Why did Trump administration revoke visa of Ranjani Srinivasan, Indian student at Columbia University?

Günaydin was in the U.S. on a student visa until the Department of Homeland Security canceled it Thursday. The petition alleges that action was illegal. It says he was held for several hours after his arrest without being told why, except that his F-1 student visa was “retroactively revoked.”

But the petition cites online records showing that his student visa wasn't terminated until roughly seven hours after his arrest, with the only reason listed as “otherwise failing to maintain status,” citing laws that say an alien is deportable if they fail to maintain the immigration status under which they were admitted to the US or whose presence in the US “would have potentially adverse foreign policy consequences.”

The petition says authorities have met none of those legal grounds for terminating his student visa. It says a drunken driving condition is not a legal basis, citing a DHS list of termination reasons.

His petition acknowledges that Günaydin was arrested for drunken driving on June 27, 2023, but says he pleaded guilty, served his sentence and complied with all conditions of his release. It says he has no other criminal convictions or arrests except for a 2021 speeding ticket when he was an undergraduate at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

After his conviction, Günaydin was accepted into the university's Carlson School of Business, awarded a scholarship and maintained a full course load with a high grade-point average, the petition says.

“Importantly, Mr. Günaydin has committed no crime that is cause for termination of his Student Status or that renders him deportable,” his attorney wrote.

After his arrest, Günaydin was taken to the Sherburne County Jail in Elk River, which also holds federal prisoners, and was told he'd get a hearing before an immigration judge April 8, but as of the lawsuit's filing, he hadn't been given any kind of charging document or hearing notice, his petition says.

“Without a charging document, Mr. Günaydin and counsel remain in the dark about the basis for his detention,” his attorney wrote.

The petition asks the court to order Günaydin's immediate release, declare his arrest and continued detention illegal, and restore his student status.

“Even if he is ultimately freed, as long as Dogukan remains in ICE's physical custody, he will be prevented from speaking freely and openly and his unlawful detention will serve to chill others,” his attorney wrote.

State court records show that Günaydin was arrested in Minneapolis in 2023 after a police officer saw him driving erratically. A preliminary breath test showed his blood alcohol level at 0.20 per cent, well above the legal limit of 0.08 per cent. A breath test in jail almost 90 minutes later registered 0.17 per cent.

He pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor count of drunken driving, was given credit for four days served in custody and was ordered to perform one day of community service in lieu of further jail time. His fines and court fees totalled USD 528.

 
Read breaking news, latest updates from United States on topics related to politics, crime, along with national affairs. Stay up to date with news developments on Kamala Harris and Donald Trump also Canada eelction result live updates
Read breaking news, latest updates from United States on topics related to politics, crime, along with national affairs. Stay up to date with news developments on Kamala Harris and Donald Trump also Canada eelction result live updates
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