University of Minnesota student detained by ICE appears in immigration court, might testify Friday

The University of Minnesota student jailed since late last month after he was arrested by ICE agents and stripped of his student visa made his first appearance in federal immigration court Tuesday, and is expected to testify on his own behalf later this week.

In a packed courtroom, Immigration Judge Sarah Mazzie granted a request from Doğukan Günaydin’s attorney to push discussion about his detention to Friday, and another hearing about his residency in the United States to April 15.

Hannah Brown, who’s representing the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management master’s student from Turkey, told the judge she wished to hold a Joseph hearing — a specific type of bond proceeding that allows testimony and evidence. She challenged the Department of Homeland Security’s continued detention of Günaydin, saying he’s being held on a charge typically reserved for terrorists.

The attorney for the Department of Homeland Security declined to respond to Brown’s comment before Mazzie agreed to continue the hearing.

Günaydin, 28, appeared virtually in an orange jumpsuit from the Sherburne County jail where he’s been held since March 27 after immigration officers arrested him outside his St. Paul apartment. Government officials said the arrest stemmed from his drunken driving conviction in 2023. His student visa card was also revoked.

Günaydin said he was given no reason for his arrest when officers took him in, and that he was denied his right to due process. In a petition filed in U.S. District Court, he called for his release while the immigration case remains pending.

Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko last week ordered the federal government to provide a reason for Günaydin’s visa revocation and jail time. In its response, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, on behalf of President Donald Trump and some of his Cabinet members, maintained that the court does not have the authority to weigh in on the “discretionary decision” of ICE.

“This Court should allow those proceedings to play out,” the filing said.

Prior to the bond hearing, Brown asked for the immigration proceedings to be closed to the public, citing how Günaydin’s life has been “thrust into the public eye” and details about him have appeared in the media.