U of M student detained by ICE can’t be deported, judge rules

A federal judge has ruled that a Turkish University of Minnesota grad student who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this year cannot be deported.

ICE arrested Doğukan Günaydın on March 27, and a senior official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says his student visa was revoked because of a 2023 DWI conviction.

A temporary restraining order was granted by a judge on Monday, who said in his ruling that “Respondents shall not remove, transfer, or otherwise facilitate the removal of Günaydın from the District of Minnesota,” and that “No other person or agency shall remove, transfer, or otherwise facilitate the removal of Günaydın from the District of Minnesota on Respondent’s behalf.”

Court records show that requests to reinstate his student status and release him from detention were denied by the judge.

Minneapolis police squad car video shows the moments Günaydın was arrested for drunk driving in 2023.

In the video, you can hear Günaydın ask the officer if the arrest will impact his student visa.

“I just want to make sure that like, in absolute way, that like this does not impact my legal presence in this country,” Günaydın said in a 2023 MPD dash squad car video.

Günaydın had previously pleaded guilty to the DWI charge, in which he acknowledged that he could face deportation due to that conviction.

However, Günaydın has since filed a lawsuit against ICE, arguing his constitutional rights were violated because he was arrested before his student visa had been revoked.

During a bond hearing in April, U.S. prosecutors asked to keep Günaydın in jail until his case is through, telling the judge he is a danger to public safety because of his DWI arrest. They argue that just because someone didn’t die as a result of his drunken driving doesn’t mean he didn’t put people’s safety at risk.

Günaydın’s attorney, however, pointed to the police report from that arrest, saying he wasn’t speeding, didn’t try to evade police and has stayed out of trouble ever since.

Court records note that Günaydın has a hearing scheduled for May 12.