There’s another federal District Court ruling out of Minnesota on Wednesday — this one having to do with the arrest and detention of individuals who were lawfully admitted to the United States via the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
Judge John Tunheim has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) in the case, prohibiting the Trump administration from detaining and arresting those who fall within the putative class, defined as:
All individuals with refugee status who are residing in the state of Minnesota, who have not yet adjusted to lawful permanent resident status, and have not been charged with any ground for removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The order also requires the release of those who are presently detained.
Here’s some added background:
Earlier this month, the Trump administration launched an operation to target and reexamine the legal status of thousands of refugees in Minnesota who have not yet secured permanent residency status. The Trump administration argued that the “sweeping initiative” intended to reevaluate refugee cases “through new background checks and intensive verification of refugee claims.”
The program, launched by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), was dubbed “Operation Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening” (“Operation PARRIS”) in Minnesota. Under this program, DHS began arresting and detaining refugees lawfully admitted to the United States who had not yet adjusted to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, often without notice or warrants.
Plaintiffs sued, arguing that operation allowed the arrest and detention of refugees who have already undergone rigorous background checks and vetting and were merely awaiting their green cards. None have been charged with any ground for removal from the country.
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Tunheim found that the plaintiffs satisfied the factors required for issuance of a TRO. His 32-page opinion walks through the chronology of the case and the specific circumstances as to several of the plaintiffs. In the conclusion, Tunheim notes:
It is important to note that this Order does not affect USCIS’s responsibility to conduct reinspections to adjust refugees’ status to lawful permanent resident. In Minnesota, USCIS may continue this statutory process but without arresting and detaining refugees. The Order also does not impact DHS’s lawful enforcement of immigration laws. This Order is temporary until the Court has had the opportunity to have full briefing and argument on a motion for a preliminary injunction.
It is also essential to emphasize that the refugees impacted by this Order are carefully and thoroughly vetted individuals who have been invited into the United States because of persecution in the countries from which they have come. They are not committing crimes on our streets, nor did they illegally cross the border. Refugees have a legal right to be in the United States, a right to work, a right to live peacefully—and importantly, a right not to be subjected to the terror of being arrested and detained without warrants or cause in their homes or on their way to religious services or to buy groceries. At its best, America serves as a haven of individual liberties in a world too often full of tyranny and cruelty. We abandon that ideal when we subject our neighbors to fear and chaos.
No word yet on whether the administration will appeal this order, but this may well be one that they opt not to. RedState will continue to follow the case and provide any updates as warranted.
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