Immigration judge rules U of M grad student can't be deported
The Brief
An immigration court judge has ruled the Department of Homeland Security cannot deport University of Minnesota grad student Dogukan Gunaydin.
DHS is appealing the ruling.
Gunaydin will remain in ICE custody at the Sherburne County jail as the appeal plays out.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - An Immigration Court judge has ruled the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cannot deport University of Minnesota graduate student Dogukan Gunaydin.
What we know
Gunaydin's case has drawn significant attention to the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts targeting college students with criminal records.
Gunaydin was convicted in a 2023 drunk driving case, and while the Immigration judge found it to be a serious offense, she ruled it doesn't warrant removing him from the U.S.
He has been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since his arrest on March 27, will remain in custody as DHS appeals the ruling.
The case has drawn significant attention and several protests.
Dig deeper
FOX 9 has obtained Judge Sarah Mazzie's six-page ruling.
In her ruling, Mazzie sided with the Turkish grad student and his legal team, terminating deportation proceedings against him. DHS is appealing her ruling.
For now, Gunaydin will remain behind bars at the Sherburne County Jail in Elk River.
"The court concludes DHS has not met its burden to establish removability by clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence. Therefore, the court terminates removal proceedings," Judge Mazzie wrote.
The backstory
Gunaydin has been in ICE custody since March 27 after he was arrested near his off-campus apartment in St. Paul.
The government revoked Gunaydin's student visa and began deportation proceedings against him because of a previous drunk driving offense in which his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
DHS argues the 2023 arrest makes him a risk to public safety and warrants returning him to his native Turkey.
Judge Mazzie acknowledged the seriousness of Gunaydin's offense writing, "The facts of this case leave no doubt that [Gunaydin] engaged in dangerous activity. However, the evidence is insufficient to establish he placed a large segment of the general population at risk."
In conclusion, Mazzie found DHS did not meet its burden to deport Gunaydin.
What they're saying
The Department of Homeland Security is appealing the ruling.
"The immigration judge erred in failing to find that driving dangerously while severely intoxicated is criminal activity that endangers public safety and as a result erred in terminating the removal proceedings," wrote DHS attorney Laura Trosen.
While the appeal process plays out, Gunaydin will remain in custody.
FOX 9 previously reported a federal court judge has issued a temporary restraining order barring DHS and ICE from moving Gunaydin out of the district of Minnesota during his case proceedings.
What's next
Gunaydin is scheduled to return to Immigration court on Tuesday for his next hearing.
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Fact Check: Seriously, Noem didn't tell Congress Republicans voted for Jan. 6 rioters to work for ICE
Claim: U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testified to Congress that Republicans voted to allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employ participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Rating: Context: The rumor appeared to have its origin in an amendment Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove proposed on April 30, 2025, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing discussing budget resolutions for fiscal year 2025. The amendment proposed that the budget "may not be used to hire any personnel who participated in the January 6, 2021, insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol" for a role within the Department of Homeland Security. However, the amendment failed in a vote of 15-17. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem allegedly appeared before Congress and testified that Republicans voted to allow the employment of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to be employed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a rumor that spread on the internet in June 2025. Users shared the claim across social media platforms, where it was particularly popular on Facebook (archived, archived, archived), X (archived) and Threads (archived). The posts typically included an image of Noem on a ride along with ICE agents along with the text, "Kristi Noem, head of homeland security, admitted, UNDER OATH, that Republicans voted to allow January 6th rioters to serve in ICE roles. Including the ones who assaulted police officers during the attack." The posts also said, "Explains a lot about why ICE officers are wearing masks and refusing to show ID." The rumor spread on social media following Noem's appearances before various committees to discuss the budget of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which are discussed in further detail below. However, there was no evidence that Noem testified to Congress that Republicans voted to allow Jan. 6 rioters to be employed by ICE, and as a result we've rated the claim that she did false. Instead, the rumor appeared to have its origin in an amendment Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Ill., proposed on April 30, 2025, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing discussing budget resolutions for fiscal year 2025. During the hearing, a number of Democratic representatives introduced amendments to limit the ways in which the budget would be allowed to facilitate the operation of ICE. Among the presented additions was Kamlager-Dove's amendment that proposed the approved funds "may not be used to hire any personnel who participated in the January 6, 2021, insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol, even if such individual was pardoned for a crime associated with their participation in such insurrection and attack." A full video of the House Judiciary Committee is available to view on YouTube. Kamlager-Dove introduces the amendment in question around 5 hours and 50 minutes in. However, Kamlager-Dove's amendment failed in a 15-17 vote, with 15 votes of "aye" coming from Democrats and 17 votes of "no" coming from Republicans. Eight Republicans and four Democrats abstained from voting altogether. It's likely this vote is where the language in the claim that reads, "Republicans voted to allow January 6th rioters to serve in ICE roles" originated — though it remains false that Noem said as much during her appearances before Congress. The rumor also made its way into a letter to the editor published in the Arizona Daily Star, which read in part, "Kristi Noem told Congress that they were using Jan. 6 traitors as ICE personnel. They are criminals themselves, racist fascists. I suspected #47 was forming his own secret police. Noem is just a puppet." Snopes reached out to DHS and ICE for comment on these claims and will update this article should we receive a response. We also attempted to contact the author of the letter but were unsuccessful. In May 2025, Noem appeared at multiple hearings to address the DHS budget for fiscal year 2026. On May 8, she testified before the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations for the subcommittee hearing, "A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security." The full hearing is available to view on YouTube. It includes no mention of the attack on the U.S. Capitol that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021. Then, on May 14, Noem appeared before the Homeland Security Committee for the meeting "A New Era of Homeland Security: A Review of the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security." The full hearing is available to view on YouTube. The only mention of the Capitol riots occurred around 23 minutes in, when Rep. Bennie Thompson addressed National Police Week — observed May 11 through May 17 — in honor of law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6. There was no mention of any allegations that Republicans voted to allow ICE to employ Jan. 6 rioters. Finally, Noem last spoke on the DHS budget before the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on May 20. The full committee hearing, "The Department of Homeland Security's Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2026," is available to view in full on YouTube. Noem made headlines during the same hearing when she was unable to correctly define habeas corpus. There was one mention of Jan. 6 during the May 20 hearing, which occurred when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., addressed alleged civil liberty violations against United States citizens, including an alleged air marshal whose "wife might've been at January 6 or something." While we cannot definitively say there are no Jan. 6 rioters currently deputized or otherwise working for ICE as of this writing, and Republicans did indeed vote down an amendment intended to prohibit funding being used to hire Jan. 6 rioters for DHS, it is false to say that Noem testified as much to Congress. - YouTube. Accessed 6 June 2025. ---. Accessed 6 June 2025. ---. Accessed 6 June 2025. ---. Accessed 9 June 2025. A New Era of Homeland Security: A Review of the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security – Committee on Homeland Security. Accessed 6 June 2025. AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE TO THE COMMITTEE PRINT. "Home." National Police Week, Accessed 6 June 2025. Ibrahim, Nur. "Kristi Noem Said Habeas Corpus Gives Trump Right 'to Remove People from This Country.' Here's What It Really Does." Snopes, 21 May 2025, Norman, Greg. "Federal Air Marshals Surveilled Trump Cabinet Member Gabbard in 2024, Rand Paul Says." Fox News, 20 May 2025, Testimony, Download. A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations. Accessed 6 June 2025. "The Department of Homeland Security's Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2026." Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, Accessed 6 June 2025. Vail, David E. Leon. "Letter: Traitors from January 6 Are ICE Officers." Arizona Daily Star, 5 June 2025, Vote on Kamlager-Dover Amendment (#14) to the Committee Print ADS.
