Minneapolis – A graduate student from the University of Minnesota who was arrested for the application of immigration and customs was arrested for an infraction of drunk driving, not for participating in protests, federal officials said Monday.
“This is not related to students’ protests,” said the Department of National Security in a statement. “The individual in question was arrested after a visa revocation by the State Department related to a previous criminal history for a DUI.”
The news of the student arrest, and the lack of an official explanation, caused protests and expressions of concern of the students of university and political leaders. Governor Tim Walz told reporters on Monday that he spoke with the National Secretary of National Security Kristi Noem about it on Friday and was waiting for more details.
Meanwhile, the officials of the State University of Minnesota Mankato said on Monday that one of his students had also been arrested by ICE.
President Edward Inch said in a letter to the campus community that the student was arrested on Friday at a residence outside the campus.
“No reason was given. The university has not received information from ICE and they have not requested any information,” Inch wrote. “I have contacted our elected officials to share my concerns and ask for their help to stop this activity within our students’ community.”
The Mankato school did not appoint the student, nor did he give the nationality or field of study of the student. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for details about that case.
“This is becoming a deeply worrying pattern, where ICE stops students with little or no explanation … and ignores their rights over due process,” said American senator Tina Smith in a statement. “I will continue to press the Administration to get answers about these arrests and work to obtain responses from federal immigration authorities about this case.”
The University of Minnesota has not appointed its student either.
That student, who was arrested at a residence outside the Campus on Thursday, enrolled in the Business School on the Minneapolis Campus. University spokeswoman Andria Waclawski said the school had no more updates on Monday. She said previously that they were following the student’s example and respecting their privacy application, while providing the student legal assistance and other supports.
The governor said on Monday that “a deep concern is, here, that, regardless of the situation, in this country, all have the rights of due process and our concern is whether those rights of due process are followed.”
The Trump administration has cited a rarely invoked statute that authorizes the Secretary of State to revoke visas of non -citizens who could be considered a threat to foreign policy interests. It is known that more than half a dozen people with ties with universities were arrested or deported in recent weeks. Most of those detainees have shown support for the Palestinian causes during the protests of the Campus on the Israel War in Gaza.
