Boston, Updated At : 01:34 PM Feb 28, 2026 IST
Reuters
A federal judge in Minneapolis on Friday blocked the Trump administration from arresting and detaining Minnesota’s roughly 5,600 refugees under a new policy, saying the government could not “terrorise” them by turning their “American Dream into a dystopian nightmare.”
U.S. District Judge John Tunheim issued a preliminary injunction extending an earlier temporary order that prevented the administration from detaining refugees solely because they had not yet obtained lawful permanent resident status (green cards).
The policy challenged by refugees was part of “Operation PARRIS,” a Department of Homeland Security initiative announced in January to reexamine thousands of refugee cases. DHS said the initial focus would be on refugees in Minnesota, where immigration enforcement activity and a benefits fraud probe recently drew attention. DHS did not respond to requests for comment.
In a class-action lawsuit, refugees from Africa, Asia and Latin America argued the administration wrongly asserted that immigration law authorized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain any refugee who had not received a green card after one year in the United States. By law, refugees cannot obtain green cards until a year has passed; the administration had claimed authority to arrest them on the 366th day after lawful admission.
Tunheim, appointed by President Bill Clinton, found the policy lacked congressional authorization, raised constitutional concerns, and undermined the Refugee Act of 1980’s promise that refugees could begin new lives in safety. “The Court will not allow federal authorities to use a new and erroneous statutory interpretation to terrorize refugees who immigrated to this country under the promise that they would be welcomed and allowed to live in peace,” he wrote.
The ruling came soon after a similar, broader lawsuit was filed in federal court in Massachusetts to challenge nationwide enforcement. Kimberly Grano, representing the Minnesota plaintiffs with the International Refugee Assistance Project, said the decision means refugees can live without fear of being “snatched off the street and imprisoned far from their loved ones.”
