Questions surround ICE detention of Univ. of Minnesota graduate student

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Drew Pittock Evening Digital Producer

By Drew Pittock (Evening Digital Producer)

Officials in Minnesota are saying they know nothing about a University of Minnesota graduate student who was detained by ICE at an off-campus residence on Thursday. The university reportedly didn’t receive prior notice of the deportation, nor did it share information with federal officials.
In the past month, at least 10 individuals who were in the country on visas or green cards have been detained, largely over their ties to academia and pro-Palestinian protests.
Most recently, the Education Department began asking colleges and universities for the names and nationalities of students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

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As the Trump administration continues to detain foreign students across the U.S., officials in Minnesota want to know why a graduate student at the University of Minnesota was also swept up. The name and nationality of the student, who was detained Thursday, March 27, at an off-campus residence, has not been publicly released.

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According to officials, the university was not given prior notice of the detention, nor did they share information with federal authorities.

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Minnesota officials want answers

In a post on X, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said “My office and I are doing all we can to get information about this concerning case. We’re in contact with the University and understand they had no prior warning or information that led to this detainment.”

Similarly, on Friday, March 28, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he had spoken to officials with the Department of Homeland Security.

I just spoke with Homeland Security to get more information and I will share when I learn more.

The University of Minnesota is an international destination for education and research. We have any number of students studying here with visas, and we need answers. https://t.co/CWGvW884G1
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) March 29, 2025

The Associated Press reports that the student is enrolled in business school at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus and that they are receiving legal aid and support services from the school.

A protest was held in downtown Minneapolis following the student’s arrest.

At least 9 detained over the past month

Over the past month, the Trump administration has detained at least nine people, largely with ties to academia and pro-Palestinian protests, who were in the country on visas or green cards. One woman, Palestinian Leqaa Kordia, allegedly stayed in the country after her visa expired. Others have been detained for, what their lawyers describe as exercising their right to free speech.

The detained come from Palestine, Iran, Korea, India, the UK and Gambia, and Lebanon, and are being held at multiple immigration detention centers including in Louisiana and Texas. Others have either already been deported or chose to self-deport.

An executive order and seldom-invoked statute

The Trump administration contends that each one poses significant risks to U.S. national security. In an executive order that paved the way for the recent spate of student detainments and deportations, the White House wrote, “It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”

The executive order goes on to read, “the United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security.”

Hamas is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S.

As such, the deportations are part of an effort by the Trump administration to identify foreign students that it alleges hold pro-Hamas sympathies. However, the administration has largely relied on relatively obscure statutes to achieve its goals, while providing little background on the people it detains.

ICE, DHS and ED ramp up efforts

Most recently, the Education Department began asking colleges and universities for the names and nationalities of students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests, ostensibly to identify those who may have harassed Jewish students or staff. While the Trump administration, and Biden administration before him, have sought to tie the protests to widespread antisemitism, some of the students who participated in campus encampments and protests are Jewish. In an open letter signed by more than 750 Jewish students last year, the group said they “wholeheartedly reject the claim that these encampments are antisemitic and that they are an inherent threat to Jewish student safety.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security have not released any information about why they detained the University of Minnesota graduate student. An emailed request for comment from The AP to ICE has not been answered.