The Trump administration is moving to arrest thousands of people already legally admitted to the US as refugees and detain them indefinitely for aggressive “rescreening”, according to a report published on Thursday. A new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo states that federal immigration officers can and should arrest anyone who has not yet obtained a green card and subject them to interviews to assess their refugee claims while in custody.
The memo reverses a 2010 Obama administration policy that said failure to apply for a green card within a year of admission was insufficient basis for such arrest or detention. The DHS move is pertinent to an ongoing case in Minneapolis, where a federal judge last month blocked further arrests of settled refugees in Minnesota and ordered the release of at least 100 people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Officials said “Operation Parris”, targeting about 5,600 refugees in Minnesota who had not yet become permanent residents, was “a sweeping initiative re-examining thousands of refugee cases through new background checks and intensive verification of refugee claims”. In his order, district court judge John Tunheim lambasted the detentions, stating: “Refugees have a legal right to be in the United States, a right to work, a right to live peacefully.”
Wednesday’s DHS memo appears to directly contradict Tunheim’s order, claiming existing “incomplete” guidance compels it to make arrests and detentions. The memo said: “When a refugee is admitted to the United States, the admission is conditional and subject to a mandatory review after one year.” Detained refugees can remain in custody “for the duration of the inspection and examination process”.
The move comes amid an escalating immigration crackdown. US Citizenship and Immigration Services plans to spend an estimated $38.3bn to buy and retrofit warehouses as detention centres. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s approval rating on immigration dropped to 38% in February, down from 44% in December, a Quinnipiac poll found.
World Relief, a Christian humanitarian organization, called the move an “unprecedented reversal of decades-long interpretation of refugee law”. Myal Greene, its president, said: “The character of a nation is revealed in how it honours its commitments and how it treats the most vulnerable. Today, we have failed on both counts.”
