Federal judge: Detained UMN student must remain in Minnesota for now
Student detained by ICE remains in Minnesota
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, barring ICE from moving detained University of Minnesota grad student Dogukan Gunaydin out of Minnesota following his arrest by ICE officials on March 27.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A federal district court judge issued a temporary restraining order on Monday barring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from moving detained University of Minnesota grad student Dogukan Gunaydin out of Minnesota while his immigration case plays out.
Gunaydin has been detained since his March 27 arrest. He is currently locked up in the Sherburne County jail in Elk River.
Judge orders detained UMN to stay in MN
What we know:
U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Bryan signed a temporary restraining order Monday barring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials from moving Gunaydin out of Minnesota while his immigration case plays out.
The order is valid for at least the next two weeks when Judge Bryan has scheduled a court hearing on the issue, May 12. Gunaydin has been detained at the Sherburne County jail in Elk River since his arrest by ICE on March 27.
The backstory:
Gunaydin’s case has drawn significant public attention including protests on campus as well as outside the immigration court facilities in Bloomington.
Gunaydin is a citizen of Turkey who graduated from St. Olaf College. He was a full-time MBA student at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management until his arrest.
Initially, government officials said Gunaydin’s student visa was revoked because of a prior DWI conviction. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since said it wants to deport Gunaydin due to "criminal activity which endangers public safety or national security," according to court filings.
Dig deeper:
An immigration court judge initially granted Gunaydin a $5,000 bond to remain free while his removal proceedings continued, finding he did not pose public safety or flight risks. But DHS has appealed the ruling, keeping Gunaydin detained until a May 6 hearing in immigration court.
In the U.S. District Court filing, Gunaydin and his legal team write that the 28-year-old has been unable to continue his studies and has fallen behind. And he fears that his continued detention will result in "losing everything he has worked so hard for since coming to the U.S."
Gunaydin asked the federal courts to step in and order ICE to release him from custody in what is known as a habeas corpus filing. He also demanded to have his student status reinstated. Judge Bryan denied both requests. The order issued Monday only keeps Gunaydin in custody in Minnesota, barring the government from moving him outside the District of Minnesota.
What's next:
Gunaydin remains detained at the Sherburne County jail in Elk River. He is due back in Immigration court on May 6 at 1:30 p.m., where it is expected the judge will issue a final ruling on bond. Meantime, Judge Bryan has scheduled a hearing for May 12 in U.S. District Court on the temporary restraining order that keeps DHS and ICE from moving Gunaydin out of the District of Minnesota.