A federal judge in Minneapolis on Friday barred the Trump administration from arresting and detaining about 5,600 refugees in Minnesota under a newly announced enforcement policy, saying the government could not upend their lives after promising them safety and a chance to rebuild.
U.S. District Judge John Tunheim issued a preliminary injunction that extends an earlier temporary order preventing the government from detaining refugees solely because they have not yet received lawful permanent resident status (green cards).
The challenged policy is part of “Operation PARRIS,” a Department of Homeland Security initiative announced in January to reexamine thousands of refugee cases. DHS said the initial scrutiny would focus on refugees in Minnesota, where recent immigration enforcement activity and a benefits-fraud probe attracted attention. DHS did not respond to requests for comment.
In the class-action suit, refugees from Africa, Asia and Latin America argued the administration wrongly claimed that immigration law allowed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain any refugee who had not obtained a green card after one year in the United States. By statute, refugees cannot receive green cards until a year after admission; the government had asserted authority to take custody of refugees on the 366th day following lawful entry.
Tunheim, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, concluded that the policy lacks congressional authorization, raises constitutional concerns and undermines the Refugee Act of 1980, which promises refugees an opportunity to begin new lives in safety. He said the court would not permit a new and incorrect interpretation of the law to subject refugees to fear and disruption.
The ruling followed a separate, broader challenge filed in federal court in Massachusetts seeking to block similar enforcement nationwide. Kimberly Grano, who represents the Minnesota plaintiffs for the International Refugee Assistance Project, said the decision allows refugees to live without the constant fear of being “snatched off the street and imprisoned far from their loved ones.”
