MINNEAPOLIS — A federal magistrate judge ordered President Donald Trump to explain why federal immigration agents pounced on a University of Minnesota student and hauled him away. If Trump or his aides don’t respond within 24 hours or have only a lame explanation, Magistrate Douglas Micko could order that Doğukan Günaydin be freed from custody. Günaydin, age 28, a Turkish citizen, was arrested outside his home in St. Paul and was been jailed 40 miles away in Elk River. That was seven days ago. If Micko orders that Günaydin be freed, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency could continue to prosecute him for whatever the offense may be but would need to do so in open court with public scrutiny. ICE prefers to operate secretly and deport its detainees out of country without anyone knowing. In Günaydin’s case, for example, ICE notified neither local police nor university authorities about the arrest. Details about what happened have emerged only because friends suspected ICE was responsible for his disappearance and hired an attorney to go to court for answers.
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Günaydin court record
Unbeknown to Günaydin, the U.S. State Department earlier had revoked his student visa. Why remains unclear. But a scan of Minnesota court records shows a traffic offense three years ago. It was a felony adjudicated in a local court as is the custom in the U.S. judicial system. Günaydin paid his fine and did his time. The offense, although a felony, was hardly a threat to national security.
> January 2022. Günaydin, age 25, came to the United States from Istanbul to study at St. Olaf College in Northfield.
> June 2023. A Minneapolis police officer noticed Günaydin driving recklessly. Günaydin did not stop despite the officer’s flashing lights but eventually pulled over. As the officer stepped out of his squad car, however, Günaydin drove away. The officer called for assistance and Günaydin finally stopped again. His blood-alcohol concentration tested at more than twice the legal 0.08% limit.
> March 2024. Günaydin pleaded guilty and was sentenced in a plea deal to six months in jail although the sentence was stayed for two years if he didn’t do it again.
> The catch clause. The plea agreement contained this boilerplate: “I understand that if I am not a citizen of the United States, my plea of guilty may result in deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization as a United States citizen.” The question: Should judges impose such double jeopardy language in sentencing.