Becky Dernbach

Minneapolis, Oakland

Reporting on education in Minnesota's immigrant communities @SahanJournal. Rhymes with "Sherlock." She/her. [email protected]

Articles

Judge blocks ICE from yanking UMN geography student’s status

6 days ago | sahanjournal.com | Becky Dernbach

A federal judge Thursday ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to reinstate the legal status of a University of Minnesota graduate student from China and told ICE to stop any action to impose immigration consequences on him. The temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz, the chief judge for the district of Minnesota, marks the second injunction against the federal government in three days for terminating the legal status of Minnesota’s international students.
Judge orders ICE to reinstate Metro State student’s legal status

1 week ago | sahanjournal.com | Becky Dernbach

A federal judge in St. Paul ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tuesday to reinstate the legal status of a Metropolitan State University student from Thailand. The order from U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan in the case of Rattanand Ratsantiboon marks the first intervention by a federal judge into ICE’s termination of the legal status of Minnesota’s international students.
UMN student sues ICE for terminating legal status over traffic tickets

1 week ago | sahanjournal.com | Becky Dernbach

A University of Minnesota geography student from China sued Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday, claiming his legal student status was unlawfully terminated over a handful of speeding and parking tickets. Ziliang Jin, who is studying for a master’s degree in geographic information science and cartography, received an email from the university on April 8 notifying him that ICE had “unilaterally terminated” his record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).
UMN student’s deportation hearing delayed as DHS lawyers backtrack

1 week ago | sahanjournal.com | Becky Dernbach

An immigration judge postponed a University of Minnesota student’s deportation hearing Tuesday after the Department of Homeland Security said it needed more time to determine charges against the student, who has been in custody for more than two weeks. Doğukan Günaydın, a Turkish citizen studying for an MBA at the Carlson School of Management, has been in immigration detention since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested him near his St. Paul apartment on March 27.
Metro State student sues ICE after abruptly losing legal status

2 weeks ago | sahanjournal.com | Becky Dernbach

An international student at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul sued Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday, claiming the agency unlawfully terminated his legal student status over a drunk-driving conviction. According to the lawsuit, ICE terminated the legal status for Rattanand Ratsantiboon, a nursing student from Thailand, on March 28.
U.S. government defends ICE detention of U student

2 weeks ago | sahanjournal.com | Becky Dernbach |Katelyn Vue

Immigration officials arrested a University of Minnesota student last week because of his drunk driving arrest in 2023, federal officials said in a new court filing. Doğukan Günaydın, an international student from Turkey, was arrested on March 27 by plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers near his home in St. Paul as he was on his way to class, according to a lawsuit he filed on Sunday. He was studying for a STEM MBA at the Carlson School of Management.
Legal status revoked for five international students at MSU Mankato

3 weeks ago | sahanjournal.com | Becky Dernbach

Five international students at Minnesota State University, Mankato, had their legal student status revoked by the Department of Homeland Security without notification, said the university’s president. University staff discovered the revocations after a status check in the Student Exchange Visitor Information System, president Edward Inch told the campus community in an email sent late Wednesday night.
U student arrested by ICE sues for immediate release

3 weeks ago | sahanjournal.com | Becky Dernbach

A federal lawsuit alleges that the Department of Homeland Security unlawfully terminated a University of Minnesota student’s legal status and violated his due process rights by detaining him without charging him with an immigration violation. The lawsuit filed by Doğukan Günaydın, 28, asks a federal judge to order his release from custody and reinstate his legal student status.
ICE arrests second student in Minnesota, this time at MSU Mankato

3 weeks ago | sahanjournal.com | Becky Dernbach

More than 150 people rallying Monday at the University of Minnesota in support of a graduate student who was detained by ICE last week learned that a second student in Minnesota had also been arrested by immigration officials. Sen. Omar Fateh (DFL-Minneapolis), who attended the rally, shared the news with emcees that ICE had also detained a student at Minnesota State University, Mankato on Friday.
UMN, St. Thomas get teaching training grants back pending appeal

4 weeks ago | sahanjournal.com | Becky Dernbach

Following a court order from a federal judge in Maryland, the U.S. Department of Education reinstated teacher training grants this week to the University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas. Danaya Franke, director of NXT GEN Teach at the University of Minnesota, said her program had received official notification of the grant reinstatement on Monday, the deadline for the department to comply with the judge’s order.