Judge hears arguments on extending protections for refugees in Minnesota facing deportation

A federal judge heard arguments Thursday over whether a temporary restraining order that is currently protecting Minnesota refugees who are legally here should be extended.

U.S. District Judge John Tunheim blocked the government from targeting these refugees last month, saying the plaintiffs in the case were likely to prevail on their claims "that their arrest and detention, and the policy that purports to justify them, are unlawful." His Jan. 28 temporary restraining order will expire Feb. 25 unless he grants a more permanent preliminary injunction.

Thursday, attorneys asked the court to extend the order in the form of a preliminary injunction. Attorneys hope the judge will make a ruling next week.

Refugee rights groups sued the federal government in January after the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in mid-December launched Operation PARRIS, an acronym for Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening.

It was billed as a "sweeping initiative" to reexamine the cases of 5,600 Minnesota refugees who had not yet been granted permanent resident status, also known as green cards. The agencies cited fraud in public programs in Minnesota as justification.

Operation PARRIS was part of the Trump administration's broader immigration crackdown that targeted Minnesota, including the surge of thousands of federal officers into the state. Homeland Security said it was its largest immigration enforcement operation ever. It also sparked mass protests after the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. White House border czar Tom Homan announced last week the surge was ending, though a small federal presence would remain.

The lawsuit alleges that ICE officers went door to door under Operation PARRIS arresting refugees and sending them to detention centers in Texas, without access to attorneys. Some were later released on the streets of Texas and left to find their own way back to Minnesota, they said.

The judge rejected the government's claim that it had the legal right to arrest and detain refugees who haven't obtained their green cards within a year of arriving in the U.S. He said that would be illogical and nonsensical, given that refugees can't apply for permanent residency until they've been in the U.S. for a year.

Tunheim noted in his order, which applies only in Minnesota, that refugees are extensively vetted by multiple agencies before being resettled in the U.S. He wrote that none arrested in the operation had been deemed a danger to the community or a flight risk, nor had any been charged with crimes that could be grounds for deportation.

The judge cited several cases involving plaintiffs named in the lawsuit, including one man identified only as U.H.A., a refugee with no criminal history. He was admitted into the U.S. in 2024 and was arrested by ICE while driving to work on Jan. 18 this year. "He was pulled over, ordered out of his car, handcuffed, and detained, without a warrant or apparent justification," the judge wrote.

Tunheim stressed that the refugees impacted by his order were admitted into the U.S. because of persecution in their home countries. He prohibited further arrests under Operation PARRIS and ordered that all detainees still in custody from it be released and returned to Minnesota.

"They are not committing crimes on our streets, nor did they illegally cross the border. Refugees have a legal right to be in the United States, a right to work, a right to live peacefully — and importantly, a right not to be subjected to the terror of being arrested and detained without warrants or cause in their homes or on their way to religious services or to buy groceries," he wrote.

"At its best, America serves as a haven of individual liberties in a world too often full of tyranny and cruelty. We abandon that ideal when we subject our neighbors to fear and chaos," he continued.

In a follow-up order Feb. 9, Tunheim rejected a government motion to lift the temporary restraining order.

Memo instructs ICE to detain refugees without green card after 1 year in U.S.

As that fight continues in court, a new memo obtained by CBS News is raising alarm.

The directive instructs ICE to detain refugees who have not formally obtained permanent residency — also known as a green card — a year after their admission.

The latest policy targets refugees already brought to the U.S. Under federal law, refugees can apply for a green card a year after their arrival.

Until now, missing that mark was not treated as a reason for detention or deportation.

"Refugees are the most vetted population coming here," said International Institute of Minnesota Executive Director Jane Graupman.

The organization provides crucial services to new Americans.

Graupman says this policy is especially concerning because refugees can only apply for a green card after being in the country for one year. She says the odds are stacked against them for following the rules.  

"What is the motive? It isn't going to make our country safer, these folks have already been vetted," Graupman said. 

The memo says these refugees can return to government custody voluntarily by appearing for an interview at an immigration office. But if they don't, the memo says, ICE must find, arrest and detain them.