University of Minnesota student who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement sues for immediate release
His petition acknowledges that Günaydın was arrested for drunken driving on June 27, 2023, but says he pleaded guilty, served his sentence and complied with all conditions of his release. It says he has no other criminal convictions or arrests except for a 2021 speeding ticket when he was an undergraduate at St. Olaf College in Northfield.
After his conviction, Günaydın was accepted into the university’s Carlson School of Business, awarded a scholarship and maintained a full course load with a high grade-point average, the petition says.
“Importantly, Mr. Günaydın has committed no crime that is cause for termination of his Student Status or that renders him deportable,” his attorney wrote.
After his arrest, Günaydın was taken to the Sherburne County Jail in Elk River, which also holds federal prisoners, and was told he’d get a hearing before an immigration judge April 8, but as of the lawsuit’s filing, he hadn’t been given any kind of charging document or hearing notice, his petition says.
“Without a charging document, Mr. Günaydın and counsel remain in the dark about the basis for his detention,” his attorney wrote.
The petition asks the court to order Günaydın’s immediate release, declare his arrest and continued detention illegal, and restore his student status.
“Even if he is ultimately freed, as long as Doğukan remains in ICE’s physical custody, he will be prevented from speaking freely and openly and his unlawful detention will serve to chill others,” his attorney wrote.
State court records show that Günaydın was arrested in Minneapolis in 2023 after a police officer saw him driving erratically. A preliminary breath test showed his blood alcohol level at 0.20%, well above the legal limit of 0.08%. A breath test in jail almost 90 minutes later registered 0.17%.
He pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor count of drunken driving, was given credit for four days served in custody and was ordered to perform one day of community service in lieu of further jail time. His fines and court fees totaled $528.
In his plea document, which both Günaydın and his attorney signed, he agreed he understood that, as a noncitizen, his guilty plea could result in deportation.
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