U of M student released after almost 2 months detainment by ICE
The University of Minnesota student detained for almost two months by ICE was released on Thursday.
Doğukan Günaydın, a 28-year-old Turkish national studying for an MBA at the Carlson School of Management, was told he'd had his visa revoked and was facing deportation over a 2023 conviction for DWI. He was then taken into custody and placed at Sherburne County Jail in late March.
An immigration judge terminated his case, stating the DWI was not sufficient grounds for removal from the U.S. The federal government appealed the decision, but a judge ruled this week that Günaydın should be released, saying the government had violated his Fifth Amendment rights to due process.
Speaking upon his exit from a federal facility at Fort Snelling, Günaydın said he was eager to get home to his dog (pictured below), before criticizing his detainment, saying "it took 56 days to undo something that should not happen in the first place."
"First I'm relieved to be released, but I am deeply troubled and harmed by this clear violation of my constitutional right for due process," he told reporters.
"56 days I did not see the sun or the sky. For weeks I was detained with my charges dismissed, bond granted, on no pending charges or hearing. I am disappointed in the integrity of the system and individuals who allowed this to happen," he continued.
He thanked his attorneys and the wider community, with his arrest and detainment sparking protests in the Twin Cities and at the U of M campus.
It came amid a wider targeting of international students by the Trump administration, many of whom were reportedly selected due to their involvement in campus protests against Israel's ongoing actions in Palestine, with ICE agents stripping them of their legal status and attempting to deport them.
The federal government had argued that its desire to depot Günaydın was due to his DWI conviction, not his involvement in protesters.
Günaydın was arrested in Minneapolis for being over two times the alcohol limit behind the wheel of a vehicle. WCCO reports that his attorney, Hannah Brown, argued that he had expressed remorse for the DWI and "even sold his car as a form of personal punishment so he couldn't drive anymore."
Speaking on Thursday, the student said: "I want all international students to know this: While there might be some who want to scare us by abusing the power of their office, there are many more who welcome us and fight alongside us to defend our rights.
"My only hope is that no one including those who did this to me, suffer such injustice, this country deserves much better, let's not forget, it's not liberty and justice for some, it is for all."
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