A U.S. district judge in Minneapolis has temporarily enjoined a Trump administration policy that targeted roughly 5,600 lawful refugees in Minnesota who are in the process of obtaining green cards.
In a written decision, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim found federal agents likely violated multiple federal statutes by arresting some of these refugees as part of heightened vetting. Tunheim said those detained refugees had been carefully vetted and that subjecting them to arrests and detentions absent warrants or cause undermines basic liberties.
"At its best, America serves as a haven of individual liberties in a world too often full of tyranny and cruelty," Tunheim wrote. "We abandon that ideal when we subject our neighbors to fear and chaos."
Tunheim issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting federal agents from arresting lawful refugees in Minnesota who have not been charged with immigration violations. He said the order will remain effective until he can hear additional legal arguments from civil rights groups that are contesting the administration's approach.
The policy in question spurred the deployment of thousands of immigration agents to Minneapolis and Saint Paul beginning in December, an effort the administration described as an operation to enforce immigration laws and to counter fraud. The Department of Homeland Security earlier this month announced the program, labeled Operation PARRIS, and described it as "a sweeping initiative reexamining thousands of refugee cases through new background checks."
The judge made clear his ruling does not prevent the Department of Homeland Security from reexamining refugee applicants. He wrote that the order "does not impact DHS's lawful enforcement of immigration laws."
In response to Tunheim's ruling, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, identified with the administration's immigration agenda, criticized the decision on X, writing: "The judicial sabotage of democracy is unending."
Civil rights advocates involved in the litigation welcomed the temporary order. Kimberly Grano, a lawyer at the International Refugee Assistance Project, which is party to the case, said in a press release that the injunction will create "desperately-needed guardrails" on federal agents.
The court action halts arrests of a specific class of lawfully present refugees in Minnesota while legal challenges progress. Tunheim's decision balances the government's stated interest in reexamining refugee files against protections for individuals who have not been charged with violations, leaving DHS able to conduct background reviews but limiting immediate detention actions by federal agents.