UMN graduate student Dogukan Gunaydin released from ICE detention
A University of Minnesota student detained by ICE for nearly two months has been freed after a court decision.
Dogukan Gunaydin, a Turkey national, was detained over a 2023 DUI arrest.
Earlier this month, a judge ruled that arrest alone wasn't a deportable offense.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota graduate student arrested by ICE back in March over a 2023 drunk driving case has been freed from ICE detention after a court ruling.
What we know
Dogukan Gunaydin, a Turkish national, was released from ICE detention Thursday afternoon after nearly two months of detainment.
Gunaydin spoke with reporters upon his release, saying, "I am relieved to be released, but I am deeply troubled and harmed by this clear violation of my constitutional right for due process. It took 56 days to undo something that should not have happened in the first place."
He continued with a message to other international students, "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 that did this to me, suffer such injustice. this country deserves much better. Let's not forget, it's not liberty and justice for some, but it is for all," Gunaydin finished.
The backstory
Earlier this month, an immigration judge ruled Gunaydin couldn't be deported solely because of the drunk driving arrest, saying the crime didn't reach the level of a deportable offense.
The Department of Homeland Security moved to appeal the decision, keeping Gunaydin in custody while the appeal process played out.
Dig deeper
Gunaydin was arrested in Minneapolis back in June 2023 for drunk driving. A criminal complaint states Gunaydin was driving with a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit (0.17).
He ultimately pleaded guilty to a DUI charge. After his ICE arrest in March 2025, his attorneys said that Gunaydin had stayed out of legal trouble outside the 2023 arrest and had maintained his course load as a graduate student at the U of M's Carlson School. They argued that the arrest alone wasn't enough to terminate his F-1 student status.
Big picture view
In the days after Gunaydin's arrest became public, FOX 9 learned of other international students who were facing removal by DHS.
At Minnesota State University Mankato, at least a dozen students had their visa status terminated by DHS, including Mohammed Hoque, a 20-year-old student from Bangladesh. His attorneys also fought his detainment, arguing Hoque had been targeted over his support for Palestine.
A judge also ultimately sided with Hoque's attorneys, ruling "the record contains sufficiently clear evidence of viewpoint-based targeting for [Hoque's] exercise of protected speech on a matter of public concern."
Hoque was released from ICE custody earlier this month after 40 days in detainment.
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