Doğukan Gunaydin, a University of Minnesota international graduate student who was detained in March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, had his removal trial officially ended by immigration judge Sarah Mazzie Wednesday. 

In the decision, Mazzie said that while Gunaydin engaged in dangerous behavior in 2023 when he was arrested for driving while intoxicated, the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, did not prove that Gunaydin was a danger to the public.

Gunaydin was the first of four known instances of University students being detained by ICE. He has been in custody since his March 27 detention.

DHS prosecutors said Gunaydin put the general public in danger when he drove with a blood alcohol level of 0.2, more than twice the legal limit in Minnesota. The DHS filed an appeal that will keep Gunaydin in ICE custody for the time being despite Mazzi’s ruling.

“The Immigration Judge erred in failing to find that driving dangerously while severely intoxicated is criminal activity that endangers public safety,” DHS attorney Laura Trosen wrote in her appeal.

Gunaydin’s next hearing, scheduled May 6, was cancelled, but he will remain in custody as DHS continues the appeal process.