Judge upholds refugee detainment ruling during fraud crackdown
Judge blocks arrests of new refugees in US
A judge has blocked the Trump administration's efforts to detain newly arrived refugees in Minnesota. FOX 9's Paul Blume has the latest.
(FOX 9) - A federal judge is renewing protections for newly arrived refugees during the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota.
Operation PARRIS upheld
What we know:
In January, Judge John Tunheim barred the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from arresting and detaining thousands of refugees who are living and working in Minnesota while awaiting their green cards.
DHS had launched Operation Parris specifically targeting refugees, arguing they needed to be re-screened for potential immigration fraud.
Dig deeper:
Human rights attorneys have estimated that federal authorities had arrested more than 100 such refugees when they first filed a class action suit against the government.
The Trump administration asked Tunheim to reconsider his prior emergency order.
Why you should care:
On Monday, Tunheim upheld the ruling while the case is further litigated.
The backstory:
U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim ruled in January that the refugees targeted by immigration enforcement officials had undergone extensive background checks and were approved by federal agencies to lawfully enter and work in the U.S. He stated that detaining them as part of Operation PARRIS is unlawful.
"The refugees impacted by this Order are carefully and thoroughly vetted individuals who have been invited into the United States because of persecution in the countries from which they have come. They are not committing crimes on our streets, nor did they illegally cross the border," Tunheim wrote. "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."
It is estimated that Minnesota is home to approximately 5,600 refugees who have not yet secured green card status.