A federal judge has blasted President Donald Trump’s administration for turning the “American dream into a dystopian nightmare” with Homeland Security’s new policy to arrest and detain recently resettled refugees who are not yet lawful permanent residents.
The order from Minnesota District Judge John Tunheim is blocking federal authorities from interpreting immigration law to “terrorize refugees who immigrated to this country under the promise that they would be welcomed and allowed to live in peace, far from the persecution they fled.”
“Decades ago, as a nation, we made a solemn promise to refugees fleeing persecution: that after rigorous vetting, they would be welcomed to the United States and given the opportunity to rebuild their lives,” Tunheim wrote in his order Friday.
“We assured them that they could care for their families, earn a living, contribute to their communities, and live in peace here in the United States. We promised them the hope that one day they could achieve the American Dream,” he wrote.
“The government’s new policy breaks that promise — without congressional authorization — and raises serious constitutional concerns,” he added. “The new policy turns the refugees’ American dream into a dystopian nightmare.”
Tunheim had previously blocked federal officers from arresting and detaining new refugees after a lawsuit accused agents of “hunting” them down and sending them to a detention center in Texas.
He also commanded the administration to immediately release any detained refugees and return them to their homes in Minnesota.
His ruling on Friday granted a preliminary injunction that continues to block immigration officers from targeting refugees in the state — including recent arrivals who have not yet obtained a green card.
An internal memo revealed in court documents earlier this month marks a stark reversal of long-standing policy that protected legally present refugees who have not yet obtained lawful permanent residency in their first year in the United States.
Under the administration’s new policy, those refugees must report to Homeland Security or face arrest and detention in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody — even if the government has no reason to believe they should be deported or committed any crime.
Thousands of refugees across the country could be targeted under that policy.
The Trump administration — which has severely limited refugee admissions — launched Operation PARRIS last month to exclusively target Minnesota’s 5,600 new refugees after Homeland Security labeled the state “ground zero for the war on fraud.”
ICE officers arrested refugees at immigration check-ins, on their way to work or school, and appeared at their doorstep without a warrant for their arrest, according to court filings. Others were shackled and sent to a detention center in Texas, more than 1,200 miles away.
The judge’s order arrived moments after a group of refugees and advocacy groups filed a separate lawsuit to block the administration’s new refugee detention policy nationwide.
“I fled death threats and waited nearly a decade to resettle as a refugee in the United States,” plaintiff Mona C. said in a statement. “My family has worked hard to restart our lives, but now I am worried that ICE might arrest me. Who will take care of my children if I am arrested and detained? We came to the U.S. to live in peace and safety, not to relive the horrors of our past.”
