A federal court has temporarily paused a Trump administration policy allowing the arrest and possibly indefinite detention of refugees lawfully resettled in the United States.
Richard Stearns
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston granted six refugees, Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts and the International Institute of New England a motion to block the “Refugee Detention Policy” as their lawsuit continues through the courts.
The Department of Homeland Security has used the policy to conduct warrantless arrests and detentions of refugees who had yet to apply for Green Cards as required after at least one year of physical presence in the country. The directive also targets abouty 100,000 refugees with pending applications for permanent residency awaiting approval by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
While refugee status does not expire after one year, the administration argued that refugees who do not possess green cards by the 366th day after arrival can be arrested and permanently detained. DHS also saw the policy as an opportunity to re-open the original cases of individual refugees, meaning they would have to undergo once again the rigorous interviewing and vetting process that already enabled them to escape persecution overseas and enter the U.S.
“We have already seen that DHS’ arrest and detention tactics are traumatizing, and re-traumatizing, refugees who have often previously suffered and fled persecution, and who were resettled with the promise of refuge in the United States,” the International Refugee Assistance Project said in an analysis of the policy.
That organization, also known as IRAP, and Democracy Forward represent the plaintiffs in Jean A. et al v. Kristi Noem, the case that led Stearns to block the policy.
The lawsuit was filed in February after DHS unleashed “Operation Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening” in Minnesota. Also known as “Operation PARRIS,” the campaign arrested and detained refugees, claiming they had entered the country fraudulently.
Steven Bressler
The federal government essentially conceded to the plaintiffs’ argument by not contesting the motion for a stay, Democracy Forward explained.
“Today’s ruling affirms that the government cannot manipulate the law to justify the mass arrest and detention of people,” said Steven Bressler, senior legal adviser at Democracy Forward. “For decades, federal law has established that refugees who are lawfully present in the United States will not be jailed simply because of administrative delays or paperwork. This new policy was as cruel as it was unlawful, and we are encouraged that the court is protecting the fundamental rights of refugees and ensuring the Trump-Vance administration follows the law.”
Laurie Bell Cooper
The ruling means refugees can live their lives as the case proceeds and not worry about being separated from their families and communities, said Laurie Ball Cooper, vice president of U.S. legal programs at IRAP.
“Just as we previously blocked the Trump administration from terrorizing refugees in Minnesota, we have now stopped this policy of illegal arrest and detention from being carried out on a national scale,” she said.
And lawfully resettled refugees never should be detained because of intentional administrative delays in receiving Green Cards, said Rabbi James Greene, CEO of Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts.
“I have sat with refugee families in their first hours in this country — exhausted, hopeful, and trusting that the United States would keep its promise to them. Today’s ruling honors that promise and recognizes what our tradition has long taught — that no one should be told they do not belong. Detaining people who have done everything right is not justice, it is cruelty.”
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