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University of Minnesota says graduate student was detained by ICE

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University of Minnesota says graduate student was detained by ICE


A graduate student at the University of Minnesota was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Thursday at an off-campus residence, the school said in a statement.

Friday’s statement — signed by President Rebecca Cunningham, Vice President for Student Affairs Calvin Phillips and Vice President for Equity and Diversity Mercedes Ramírez Fernández — called the situation “deeply concerning.” The international student is enrolled in the Twin Cities campus, the school said.

The university said it did not have further information or more details on the situation. It also said it had no prior knowledge that the detention was happening and did not share any information with federal agents beforehand.

The school did not release the student’s name. The student’s nationality and visa type and status were unavailable.

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Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to requests for comment Saturday evening.

“It is important to note that our campus departments of public safety, including UMPD, do not enforce federal immigration laws, and our officers do not inquire about an individual’s immigration status,” the UMN statement said. “Their focus remains on public safety, fostering trust and maintaining strong relationships across the University community.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Friday that he had been in touch with DHS to get information, and added that he would share more when he could.

“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,” Walz said on X.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the student’s detainment “deeply troubling” in a post on X.

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“Educational environments must be places where all students can focus on learning and growing without fear,” Frey said.

This latest arrest comes on the heels of other arrests of international students at American universities.

Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia University who led student protests at the New York school last spring, was arrested by federal immigration agents earlier this month and was told his student visa was being revoked.

Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the United States, was accused of supporting Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. A lawyer of his rejected the claim, saying there is no evidence Khalil provided support of any kind to a terrorist organization.

Khalil is being held in federal custody in Louisiana after U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman ruled he cannot be deported “to preserve the court’s jurisdiction” as it weighs a filing challenging his arrest and planned deportation.

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Rumeysa Ozturk, a graduate student at Tufts University who is a Turkish national in the U.S. on what her attorney said was a valid student visa, was similarly arrested by federal immigration agents Tuesday and is also being held in Louisiana. Her arrest was caught on video, with Ozturk’s lawyer saying she was on her way to meet friends for iftar, a meal that breaks the day-time fast observed by Muslims during Ramadan, when she was arrested.

A court order Friday blocked Ozturk’s deportation while U.S. District Judge Denise Casper determines whether she has jurisdiction over the case.

An Iranian doctoral student at the University of Alabama, Alireza Doroudi, and a Russian medical researcher at Harvard University, Kseniia Petrova, were both detained by immigration agents this week as well.



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Minneapolis, MN

Minnesota vehicles and E15: What you need to know

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Minnesota vehicles and E15: What you need to know


Minnesota is investing nearly $5 million to expand E15 availability, a blend of gasoline with up to 15% ethanol, while federal rules and carmaker guidance limit its use. FOX 9’s Corin Hoggard details what you need to keep in mind before making the switch.



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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis City Council to hear public comments on effort to repeal adult bathhouse ban

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Minneapolis City Council to hear public comments on effort to repeal adult bathhouse ban


The council will host two public hearings this week concerning ordinances that would repeal the adult bathhouse ban. They were banned in 1988 during the peak of the AIDS epidemic, but advocates say after nearly 40 years it is time to bring them back.



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Minneapolis, MN

Search for permanent Minneapolis police chief has not started yet, commissioner says

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Search for permanent Minneapolis police chief has not started yet, commissioner says


Minneapolis leaders say police reform work is continuing as the city prepares to start its search for a new permanent police chief.

The city has said little publicly about the search for a new permanent Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) chief since Chief Brian O’Hara resigned more than two weeks ago.

Brian O’Hara resigns as Minneapolis police chief after report shows he interfered with investigation into his conduct

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS asked for an update alongside a new progress report on state-mandated reform efforts released on Thursday from city public safety leaders, including Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette and MPD Bureau Chief Ganesha Martin, who said they are confident reform work will not slow down after O’Hara’s resignation.

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“Not at all,” said Martin. “So, Chief Peterson has been highly engaged, very open, curious, wanting to make sure to get up to speed on all the things that we’re doing.”

“The majority of the process is already in place, so I don’t think that it impacts the work that’s being done,” said Barnette.

What happens next?

Barnette also addressed whether ongoing mandated reforms could affect the city’s ability to hire a new chief. He said the work ahead is significant, but said he believes it will still draw interest.

“It’s a heavy lift, but having transformational reform that we’re institutionalizing here in the city is exciting work to do,” said Barnette. “So, I think we’re going to attract a lot of candidates. I don’t think that’s going to persuade anybody from not coming.”

Barnette said the hiring process is still in its early stages, adding that city leaders are still deciding what the search will look like.

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“We’re still, we’re not even two weeks in with Chief Peterson yet,” said Barnette.

“We’re just going through, looking at what we did in the former search, what things that the mayor wants to see in this search, and then what input we’re going to get along the way,” said Barnette.

Has the search started?

When asked whether the official search had started, Barnette said no. He also said the city has not started talking to people yet.

The fourth quarterly progress report from independent monitor Effective Law Enforcement for All (ELEFA) also called the hiring of a new chief “an opportunity.” The report found “significant weaknesses” in the former chief’s review process for misconduct investigations.

Barnette said the city will begin the official search for a permanent chief “pretty soon.”

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Below is a statement from Interim Chief Bill Peterson on the release of the fourth ELEFA report:

You can view the full ELEFA report below:



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