A new DHS order could lead to thousands of legal refugees being detained in the United States

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Trump administration has issued a sweeping new order that could lead to the detention of tens of thousands of refugees who are legally in the United States but do not yet have permanent residency, eliminating years of legal and immigration safeguards.

A memorandum filed by the Department of Homeland Security ahead of a federal court hearing in Minnesota on Thursday says refugees who apply for green cards must return to federal custody a year after entering the United States to have their applications reviewed.

The Department of Homeland Security “may maintain custody for the duration of the search and screening process,” the memo filed Wednesday said.

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Advocacy and resettlement groups have criticized the order, which is likely to face legal challenges and could sow confusion and fear among the nearly 200,000 refugees who came to the United States during the Biden administration.

The order is the latest in a series of immigration restrictions imposed by the Trump administration, which has upended long-standing policies toward refugees, including significantly reducing the number of people admitted to the country. A memo obtained by The Associated Press late last year said the administration was planning to review all refugees admitted to the United States during the Biden administration, and immediately suspended green card approvals for refugees who arrived during those years.

The administration has cited national security and economic concerns in its policy changes. Experts say that refugees who are allowed into the country are already subject to extensive screening.

The new order came hours before U.S. District Judge John Tunheim heard arguments Thursday on whether he should extend a temporary order protecting Minnesota refugees lawfully in the United States from arrest and deportation. Tunheim’s order only applies in Minnesota, but the implications of the new national policy were a major part of the discussion anyway.

It was not clear how many people could be arrested under the new order.

Justice Department lawyer Brantley Myers said during Thursday’s hearing that the government should have the right to detain refugees a year after they enter the United States, but noted that that would not always happen.

“This is a call for discretion from the Department of Homeland Security,” he said, a comment that was met with skepticism by refugee lawyers in Minnesota.

Tunheim did not rule Thursday, saying he would issue a written decision on whether to extend the temporary order.

After the hearing, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota said in a news conference outside the courtroom that the government “failed to make any coherent case for its policy either in law or in fact.” She was not in court for the hearing, but said she had been informed of the matter.

“So we will continue to fight for justice in the courts,” Smith said, surrounded by lawyers and refugee rights advocates, including US Representative Ilhan Omar.

Advocacy groups condemn the new system

Immigration advocates quickly opposed the new policy, with HIAS, an international Jewish nonprofit serving refugees and asylum seekers, calling it “a transparent effort to detain and potentially deport thousands of people who are lawfully in this country, people who have been welcomed by the United States government itself.”

“They were promised safety and the opportunity to rebuild their lives. Instead, DHS is now threatening them with arrest and indefinite detention,” Beth Oppenheim, the group’s CEO, said in a statement.

Tunheim blocked the government from targeting Minnesota refugees last month, saying plaintiffs in the case were likely to prevail on their claims “that their arrest and detention, and the policy intended to justify them, are unlawful.” The temporary restraining order issued on January 28 will expire on February 25 unless a more permanent preliminary injunction is granted.

The judge previously rejected the government’s claim that it had the legal right to arrest and detain refugees who did not obtain their green cards within a year of arriving in the United States.

“Imposing detention would lead to an illogical result,” Tunheim wrote, as refugees cannot even apply for green cards until after a year of living in the United States. He said the government’s interpretation meant that almost all refugees would face detention unless immigration officials reviewed them exactly one year later, which he called “illogical.”

Refugee rights groups sued the federal government in January after the government launched the Paris Process, short for “Verification of Refugees and Promotion of Integrity after Admission.”

It has been described as a “comprehensive initiative” to review the cases of 5,600 refugees from Minnesota who have not yet obtained permanent resident status or green cards. The agencies cited fraud in Minnesota’s public programs as justification.

The Paris operation was part of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration campaign targeting Minnesota, including a surge of thousands of federal officers. The Department of Homeland Security described it as the largest immigration enforcement operation ever. This sparked mass protests after federal agents shot and killed two American citizens. White House border official Tom Homan announced last week that the surge had ended, although a small federal presence remained.

The judge points out that refugees are screened on a large scale

The lawsuit alleges that ICE officers went door-to-door as part of Operation Paris to arrest refugees and send them to detention centers in Texas, without access to attorneys. Some were later released in Texas and left to find their way to Minnesota, they said.

Tunheim noted in his order that refugees are extensively screened by multiple agencies before being resettled in the United States. None of them were arrested in the operation as a danger to the community or a flight risk, and none were charged with crimes that could be grounds for deportation, he wrote.

Tunheim stressed that the refugees affected by his order were admitted to the United States because of persecution in their countries of origin. He prevented further arrests under the Paris Operation and ordered the release of detainees still held and returned to Minnesota.

“They are not committing crimes on our streets, and they have not crossed the border illegally. Refugees have a legal right to be in the United States, the right to work, and the right to live in peace,” he wrote.