A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from detaining refugees in Minnesota who do not yet hold green cards, following a move to re-examine thousands of refugee cases.
The ruling, issued on Wednesday by US District Judge John Tunheim, prevents immigration authorities from arresting refugees solely on the basis that they have not adjusted to lawful permanent resident status.
The temporary restraining order was granted after a legal challenge brought by the International Refugee Assistance Project and other groups on behalf of refugees who have already been detained or fear imminent arrest.
In his decision, Judge Tunheim said refugees had a clear legal right to live and work in the United States and should not be subjected to arrest without warrants or cause.
“At its best, America serves as a haven of individual liberties,” he wrote, adding that those principles are undermined when people are subjected to fear and uncertainty.
The order targets a Department of Homeland Security initiative known as Operation PARRIS, which aims to review the immigration cases of about 5,600 refugees living legally in Minnesota. The individuals have refugee status but have not yet been granted permanent residency.
The department has said the programme would involve fresh interviews and background checks, despite refugees having already undergone screening before entering the country.
Judge Tunheim said the legal challenge was likely to succeed in showing that the government does not have the authority to detain refugees who are not facing deportation proceedings.
Under the ruling, the administration must immediately release any refugees in Minnesota who are currently detained under the policy. Those being held in other states must be returned to Minnesota and released within five days.
Kimberly Grano, a staff attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project, said refugees in the state had been living in fear of being arrested and transferred out of state.
She said the order would place urgent limits on immigration enforcement and protect refugees from unlawful detention.
The White House criticised the decision. Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said in a post on X that the ruling amounted to “judicial sabotage”.
The case comes amid a wider immigration crackdown in Minnesota, where federal authorities have carried out about 3,400 arrests over the past two months.
It also follows a directive issued by the Trump administration in November to review the cases of refugees admitted under former president Joe Biden and assess whether they should be allowed to remain in the United States.
