Ruling Prevents Unlawful Targeting, Arrest and Detention of Legally Admitted Refugees in the State
Washington, D.C.—On Wednesday, in Minnesota, a federal judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) blocking the Trump administration from carrying out arrests and detentions of legally admitted refugees in Minnesota under Operation PARRIS. The order will remain in place while litigation on the issue proceeds. The judge further ordered the rapid release of all refugees detained under Operation PARRIS in Minnesota as well as those transferred to Texas.
More than 100 legally present refugees in Minnesota have been arrested and detained without being charged with any crime since the launch of Operation PARRIS on Jan. 9.
“This order will place significant restrictions on ICE’s brutal tactics against refugees and protect legally present refugees in Minnesota from being unlawfully targeted for baseless arrests and detentions,” said Danilo Zak, Director of Advocacy at Church World Service. “Because of this temporary order, parents are returning home to their children and family members will be together safely again.”
“Federal immigration enforcement officers should not be persecuting legally settled refugees in our communities with impunity. From the killing of Minnesotans Alex Pretti and Renee Good to the jailing of our coworkers, fellow parishioners, and neighbors, ICE and CBP’s overreach is dangerous and cruel.”
This week’s order was issued as part of a lawsuit filed by a group of refugees represented by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), Berger Montague, and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL). The Advocates for Human Rights, a non-profit providing on-the-ground legal representation to impacted refugees in Minnesota, is an organizational plaintiff.
Detention, and the subsequent interrogation of refugees by ICE and CBP, often leaves lasting psychological harm. For refugees who sought protection in the United States from such persecution and violence in their home countries, this is acutely felt.
As the Senate continues to negotiate a funding package that could include billions of additional dollars for immigration enforcement, Church World Service is calling on political leaders to limit funding for ICE and CBP and ensure the inclusion of significant guardrails on those agencies’ operations.
CWS continues its own lawsuit against the Federal Government, which challenges the suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and the abrupt withholding of millions of dollars in critical funds to refugee-serving agencies. CWS filed the suit in partnership with International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), HIAS, Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW), and nine impacted individuals.
To join with CWS in demanding these changes visit our Action Alert center.
For more information or to speak with Zak, contact media@cwsglobal.org.