Mankato student detained by ICE over Palestinian support, lawsuit claims
5 Mankato students may face deportation after DHS decision
After one Mankato student was detained by ICE last week, Minnesota State-Mankato President Edward Inch says five international students have lost their student status, meaning they could face deportation.
MANKATO, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Minnesota State University Mankato international student detained by ICE in March says the Department of Homeland Security pulled his student immigration status for supporting Palestine.
Mankato student detained by ICE
What we know:
In March, Minnesota State University Mankato President Edward Inch announced one student had been arrested by ICE and later said five international students had had their F-1 student status terminated by DHS without notice. That left all five students in jeopardy of being arrested by ICE.
For the detained students, the circumstances of the arrest remained unclear until now.
Dig deeper:
A lawsuit filed last week by the detained student claims he lost his status for supporting Palestine.
Mohammed Hoque, a 20-year-old college student from Bangladesh who is Muslim himself, says he has no criminal record. Attorneys allege he was arrested out of "retaliation" for his support of "Palestinian human rights."
His attorneys claim that the detainment is a violation of the First Amendment. The lawsuit names President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and St. Paul ICE Field Officer Director Peter Berg, among other officials.
Other students lose status
The backstory:
In recent months, since Trump took office, FOX 9 has covered a number of students who have lost their status at Minnesota colleges. During his campaign, President Trump promised to crackdown on illegal immigration.
After the detainment of Hoque, Minnesota State University Mankato said five students had had their status terminated under unclear circumstances and without notice. Days before Hoque was arrested by ICE, a University of Minnesota graduate student was also detained by ICE and had his status terminated over a DUI arrest in Minneapolis in 2023.
On Monday, a group of Concordia University students filed a lawsuit, claiming their F-1 status was pulled without notice or justification, leaving them in jeopardy of being arrested.
Big picture view:
Along with his immigration policy, Trump has also vowed to take on anti-Semitism on college campuses associated with Palestinian protests.
The president issued two executive orders in January related to Palestinian protests. Addressing the second order, the president specifically warned international students that the administration would revoke student visas for "all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before."
The Source: This article was written from a lawsuit filed by Mohammed Hoque in federal court.