5 Mankato students have had visas revoked, university president says
The president of a southern Minnesota university that saw one of its students detained by federal immigration authorities last week says five other students have had their visas terminated.
Minnesota State University-Mankato President Edward Inch told the student government Wednesday night that those students "will need to return to their country of origin at some point between zero and 60 days."
The student who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is still in custody, Inch said. He was detained at an off-campus residence on March 28.
Students holding a rally on Friday said their over 1,700 international classmates are on edge.
"A lot of them are afraid to go outside, even outside of the perimeter of the university," MSU student Cole Koets said. "Some of them are afraid to attend their jobs inside the university itself."
Inch said he's been given little information about the situation and the university is working to aid the affected students.
"There are a lot of rumors about why this happened but none that are clear to me," Inch said. "There's nothing that pointed to this person should be taken."
Inch reiterated Wednesday that he has reached out to elected officials, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, Rep. Brad Finstad and Gov. Tim Walz, in hopes of preventing any further ICE activity on campus.
"So that's what I know," Inch told the student government. "I honestly wish there was a better thing I could tell you."
Inch later released a full statement to the campus community:
I am writing to let you know our learning community has experienced additional impacts from the government's new approach to student learning visas. Five of our international students have had their Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records terminated by DHS. Neither the students nor the university received notification, and we have had no request for information. Our staff in Global Education discovered these changes when they ran a status check.
Our Global Education team is connecting with affected students to provide support and referrals to immigration attorneys as needed. They are also connecting with all our international students to make sure they are well informed of their rights and the resources available to support them. I want to thank the entire staff in the Kearney International Center here at the University for their diligence, compassion, and professionalism in managing this stressful time.
We are also monitoring the situation for our international employees. Human Resources will be sharing information and resources provided by our external immigration attorneys who are able to provide support and counsel for any employees who might be affected.
Along with our partners at the Minnesota State system office, we are working to support our international students and employees by advocating for them with our elected officials, many of whom are also working to get answers from ICE and the Administration.
These are troubling times, and this situation is unlike any we have navigated before. 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 the 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.
Klobuchar's office says they've been working with university leaders in Mankato.
ICE has not responded to WCCO's questions about the detained student.
The detainment in Mankato happened one day after ICE swept a University of Minnesota-Twin Cities graduate student off the street. Dogukan Gunaydin, a 28-year-old Turkish citizen studying toward his MBA at the Carlson School of Management, is still in custody at the Sherburne County Jail a week later. His lawyer is petitioning for an immediate release, saying Gunaydin's detainment is unconsitutional. The Department of Homeland Security told WCCO Gunaydin was arrested after his visa was revoked because of a DWI in 2023. But Gunaydin's lawyer provided records that show the visa was revoked several hours after the arrest, so she says he was detained while having lawful student status.
ICE has not responded to WCCO's questions about Gunaydin's case either.
