Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Refugee Detention Policy

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Department of Homeland Security from detaining refugees who haven’t obtained green cards.

The Trump administration failed to defend the policy of arresting refugees who had not secured permanent residency one year after arriving in the U.S. The policy became publicly known in February after immigration officials started targeting refugees living in Minnesota.

Judge Richard G. Stearns of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts sided with six refugees from Rwanda, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan, as well as two refugee resettlement nonprofits who collectively brought the lawsuit against the Trump administration.

The order prevents DHS from enforcing the policy for the duration of the litigation.

“The individual plaintiffs are at risk of unlawful and unnecessary detention, a quintessential example of irreparable harm,” the judge wrote.

Attorneys with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts didn’t contest the plaintiffs’ request to block the policy.

The Feb. 18 memo outlining the major policy shift, which targets people who entered the country legally, came from the heads of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Refugees have to file for a green card with USCIS after a year of living in the U.S., but failure to do so did not warrant detention under 2010 ICE guidance that the Trump administration rescinded in December.

As of June 30, USCIS had more than 67,000 pending applications from refugees seeking permanent residency.

“I have sat with refugee families in their first hours in this country — exhausted, hopeful, and trusting that the United States would keep its promise to them,” said Rabbi James Greene, CEO of Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, in a statement. “Today’s ruling honors that promise and recognizes what our tradition has long taught: that no one should be told they do not belong. Detaining people who have done everything right is not justice; it is cruelty.”

Democracy Forward and the International Refugee Assistance Project represented the plaintiffs.

ICE, USCIS and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.