Amid lawsuit, federal judge weighs extending protections for refugees from arrest, detainment in Minnesota

A federal judge is weighing whether to extend his order blocking the arrest and detention of Minnesota refugees legally admitted to the United States who await their green card.

At a hearing Thursday, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim heard arguments in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis in the class action lawsuit against federal officials over Operation PARRIS, a sweeping effort by the Department of Homeland Security to detain and “re-examine” refugees admitted to the United States legally but who have not yet received green cards. It applies to an estimated 5,600 Minnesota refugees.

Tunheim had temporarily prohibited federal agents from arresting and detaining refugees in a Jan. 28 order and called for the release of those currently in custody. His order expires Feb. 25.

Lawyers for the immigrants asked the judge to extend the order while the lawsuit proceeds. In court, the attorneys skewered the arrests as a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unlawful searches and seizures.

“These are warrantless, surprise arrests by law-abiding individuals who are approved to come into the country,” Michelle Drake said. Drake argued refugees already undergo extensive vetting before entering the United States.

“Their position is, ‘We didn’t vet enough, we should investigate more,’ ” she said.

The DHS on Jan. 9 announced the launch of Operation PARRIS, an acronym for “post-admission refugee reverification and integrity strengthening,” billing it as an operation that “demonstrates that the Trump administration will not stand idly by as the U.S. immigration system is weaponized by those seeking to defraud the American people.” The operation is part of the broader immigration crackdown by the Trump administration in Minnesota.

Brantley Mayers, a Justice Department attorney, defended the operation as lawful and pointed to a new DHS policy filed ahead of Thursday’s hearing that says refugees applying for their green card must return to federal custody one year after they’re admitted into the United States.

“We believe their request for relief is overbroad,” he said, citing multiple federal laws that he contended justified Operation PARRIS.

Drake countered that the memo underscores the importance of an injunction, saying it shows the DHS is expected to continue using detention as a tool in the agency’s immigration crackdown.

More than once during Thursday’s hearing, Tunheim asked for instances of federal claims that refugees were attempting to extend their time in the United States, asking for examples such as a refugee failing to show up for an interview during the process of obtaining a green card. He said the government’s policy to detain the refugees seemed to be a “solution looking for a problem.”

Mayers responded that he didn’t know of specific cases of refugees failing to show up for a green card interview.

“We will continue the fight for justice in the courts,” Smith said, calling the hearing “encouraging.”

Omar called refugees among the “most vetted people in the entire world,” and said her family waited four years in a refugee camp while awaiting entry into the United States.

“What horrifies me the most is that this is really just an excuse to traumatize and terrorize people who have already experienced unimaginable suffering and fear,” Omar said.