A federal courtroom in Minneapolis became the setting for a sharp rebuke of a new immigration crackdown, as a judge blocked the Trump administration from arresting thousands of refugees living in Minnesota.
U.S. District Judge John Tunheim issued a preliminary injunction preventing federal authorities from detaining refugees solely because they have not yet secured lawful permanent resident status. The order extends an earlier temporary halt and effectively freezes the policy in the state for now.
At the center of the dispute is “Operation PARRIS,” an initiative unveiled by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a sweeping review of refugee cases. Officials signaled that the first focus would be Minnesota — home to roughly 5,600 refugees who, though lawfully admitted, have not yet received green cards.
The administration’s position hinged on a strict reading of immigration law: refugees are required to apply for permanent residency after one year in the United States. Federal authorities argued that once that anniversary passed — day 366 — individuals who had not yet obtained green cards could be subject to arrest and detention.
Judge Tunheim rejected that interpretation in firm language. He wrote that the policy lacked congressional authorization and raised constitutional concerns, warning that it risked unraveling the protections embedded in the Refugee Act of 1980. That law, he noted, was designed to offer people fleeing persecution a genuine chance at rebuilding their lives in safety.
By statute, refugees cannot even obtain green cards until a year has elapsed. The court found it untenable to treat that waiting period as a trigger for detention.
Refugees from Africa, Asia, and Latin America brought the challenge as a class action, contending that federal immigration authorities were stretching the law beyond its limits. Their lawsuit argued that immigration enforcement agencies do not have blanket authority to arrest refugees simply for not having adjusted their status within a fixed timeline.
The ruling applies within Minnesota, but the legal battle is expanding. A separate lawsuit filed in federal court in Massachusetts seeks to block enforcement of the same policy nationwide.
For now, the injunction ensures that refugees in Minnesota cannot be detained under this new interpretation. Whether the administration’s broader strategy survives will likely depend on how other courts weigh the tension between executive power and the statutory promise made to those admitted under America’s refugee program.
