5 Mankato students may face deportation after DHS decision
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) - 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.
5 Mankato students lose status
What we know:
President Inch said in a letter sent to students the university only learned about the change in status for the five students after checking the system DHS uses to monitor international students.
Inch says the school was never notified that the records had been terminated, nor were the students themselves. The university says DHS never reached out to them for information about the students either.
What they're saying:
The university says they are monitoring the situation and providing support to their international students and employees.
"These are troubling times, and this situation is unlike any we have navigated before," wrote Inch. "I am asking for your help. These are difficult situations with many folks working diligently to respond to inquiries, support one another and our students, and advocate where possible. I ask all of you to please be sensitive to the fact that most information about students cannot be shared due to student privacy laws. Speculation and sharing rumors is not helpful and causes additional distress and confusion."
"I also ask for our community to stand together in support of our students, our faculty, and our staff as a shared and valued learning community," Inch concludes.
Minnesota students detained by ICE
Why it matters:
A loss of status means these students could face detainment and deportation.
Inch's letter does not indicate whether any of the students had been detained.
The backstory:
Two students were detained by ICE last week in Minnesota, as President Trump moves forward with a crackdown on immigration. One student was a business graduate student at the University of Minnesota while the other attended Minnesota State-Mankato.
FOX 9 is working to learn more about both cases.
What's next:
The fate of the detained students is unclear at this point. At least one of the students has filed a petition fighting for his release.
As for the five Mankato students, it's not certain whether ICE is working to detain them at this point.
Student sues over detainment
Dig deeper:
In a petition filed by detained University of Minnesota student Doğukan Günaydın, who is originally from Turkey, attorneys claim DHS wrongly terminated his status.
Günaydın was arrested and convicted in a drunk driving case in 2023. In a statement sent to FOX 9, DHS said that conviction was the basis for revoking Günaydın's visa.
As part of his guilty plea, Günaydın acknowledged that he could face deportation due to the guilty plea.
The other side:
However, while attorneys say losing his visa prevents Günaydın from re-entering the United States, it alone isn't grounds for removal. They also argue a DUI case alone isn't enough for deportation under the law.
READ MORE: UMN student detained by ICE feared he was being kidnapped: court docs
Attorneys say Günaydın maintained his academic requirements, holding a full course load and a high GPA.
Attorneys also point out Günaydın's student status was only terminated after he was arrested by ICE. They claim even DHS appears to be confused about why they are working to deport Günaydın.
The Source: This article uses a letter sent by the Minnesota State-Mankato president, past reporting, and background information on Student and Exchange Visitor Information System from DHS.