UMN student detained by ICE feared he was being kidnapped: court docs

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota international student who was detained by ICE last week, after DHS said it pulled his visa due to a DUI arrest, thought he was being kidnapped when two plainclothes agents picked him up on the street, a petition claims.

That student is now fighting to be released from detention.

UMN student detained by ICE

The backstory:

A lawsuit filed against President Donald Trump and other government officials identifies the University of Minnesota student as Doğukan Günaydın. Günaydın is from Turkey. 

University officials said he was arrested last Thursday at an off-campus residence for unknown reasons. The Department of Homeland Security later told FOX 9 his visa had been revoked related to a DUI arrest in 2023.

Dig deeper:

Court documents show Günaydın was arrested in the early morning hours of June 24, 2023, for erratic driving on Washington Avenue in Minneapolis. The complaint against Günaydın states he blew a 0.17 blood-alcohol content about an hour after being stopped.

New info:

A petition states Günaydın is in the United States on a F-1 nonimmigrant student visa. He graduated from St. Olaf College on a full scholarship before becoming a STEM MBA candidate at the Carlson School of Management.

In his filing, attorneys for Günaydın say he pleaded guilty in that DUI case but has maintained a full course load and high GPA as a graduate student at the university's Carlson School of Management. Aside from an earlier speeding ticket, Günaydın says he has not faced any other legal trouble.

Local perspective:

Günaydın is the second Minnesota college student to get detained by ICE in the past week. A Mankato State student was detained a day after ICE arrested Gunaydin last week.

FOX 9 is still working to learn more details about that case and why the student was detained.

Petition filed

What we know:

Günaydın filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, challenging his detention on Sunday. The petition recalls Günaydın's arrest on March 27. 

"Two plainclothes HSI officers approached Mr. Günaydın just outside his St. Paul apartment as he was leaving to go to class," the lawsuit reads. "The plainclothes federal officers handcuffed him and placed him into an unmarked vehicle. Mr. Günaydın feared he was being kidnapped."

Arguments:

The petition states that while the visa allows Günaydın to enter the country, student status governs whether he can remain in the United States. And his attorneys say Günaydın's DUI conviction alone is not enough to revoke his student status.

Attorneys say while DHS did terminate his student status, it happened seven hours after his arrest and Günaydın had not violated the conditions under the law that allow for his student status to be removed.

The petition says even "DHS appears to be unclear about the actual basis for terminating Mr. Günaydın's student status."

What's next:

Günaydın is scheduled to appear at an immigration hearing on April 8. It's unclear if he will be freed as part of his current challenge.