Dogukan Gunaydin, the STEM MBA student at the University of Minnesota who was arrested and detained by immigration officials last week, filed a lawsuit in federal court Sunday alleging the arrest and detention is a violation of his statutory and constitutional rights.

A Department of Homeland Security official said in a statement Monday that Gunaydin’s detention stems from a drunk driving conviction, clarifying that it had nothing to do with political activism on campus that has drawn scrutiny from the Trump administration. Gunaydin’s attorney also says he attended no protests.

Gunaydin is a citizen of Turkey.

Hennepin County Court records show Dunaydin was charged with gross misdemeanor DWI in July 2023. In March 2024, Dunaydin pleaded guilty to 3rd-degree DWI. The petition he signed said, “I understand that if I am not a citizen of the United States, my plea of guilty may result in deportation.

Gunaydin’s attorney Hannah Brown disputes in a petition for writ of habeas corpus that the DWI was a crime that is cause for termination of his student status or renders him deportable under immigration law. 

U of M student detained by ICE for DWI conviction files lawsuit, claiming detention is unlawful