Court Orders ICE To Stop Unlawful Arrest and Detention of Refugees
Federal Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order Halting Operation PARRIS
 (1).jpg "Federal Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order in Challenge to Operation PARRIS")
(Minneapolis, MN) – Today, a federal judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) preventing the Trump administration from arresting and detaining lawfully resettled refugees in Minnesota under Operation PARRIS while the case challenging the practice proceeds. The judge also ordered the immediate release of all detained refugees in Minnesota and the release of those taken to Texas within five days. The TRO was granted as part of a class action lawsuit filed by a group of refugees represented by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), Berger Montague, and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL). The Advocates for Human Rights, a non-profit providing on-the-ground legal representation to impacted refugees in Minnesota, is an organizational plaintiff.
"We are relieved that the judge's ruling recognizes the immediate and ongoing harm inflicted on refugees by Operation PARRIS," said Michele Garnett McKenzie, executive director of The Advocates for Human Rights. "As an organization dedicated to the protection of refugees, we hope that the government chooses to immediately comply with the court's order rather than protracting this unnecessary cruelty."
“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. At its best, America serves as a haven of individual liberties in a world too often full of tyranny and cruelty. We abandon that ideal when we subject our neighbors to fear and chaos.” - Judge Tunheim’s order
The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration is illegally targeting lawfully present refugees in order to trigger a mass termination of refugee status, rendering them vulnerable to deportation. Since the announcement of Operation PARRIS on January 9, armed ICE agents have been going door to door arresting members of the Minnesota refugee community, including children and the elderly, and sending them to detention camps in Texas. Some were subjected to intense questioning, while others have remained imprisoned for over a week, many shuffled between facilities in shackles. Those who have been released were left on the streets of Texas, usually without money, identification, or any way to get home. The TRO will remain in place until briefing on a preliminary injunction is complete.
“We are glad that the Court put a stop to ICE’s campaign of terror against our refugee neighbors. Today’s ruling is an important win, and a reminder that our courts are a powerful check,” said E. Michelle Drake, Executive Shareholder at Berger Montague. “We’ll keep fighting for Minnesota’s refugee and immigrant communities. Minnesota has always welcomed refugees, who come here to escape persecution and build new lives.”
“Two weeks ago, armed ICE agents began imprisoning refugees who fled persecution, came here lawfully, and built a life in Minnesota,” said Sarah Kahn, Senior Staff Attorney, CHRCL. “Through this order, the judge recognized that this brutal and senseless practice is illegal and required that the government respect longstanding protections for refugees.”
"Operation PARRIS's scheme of detaining lawfully present refugees is an unprecedented assault on core human rights that are enshrined in both the 1951 Convention and the 1980 Refugee Act - rights that The Advocates is committed to protect,” said Michele Garnett McKenzie, Executive Director of The Advocates for Human Rights. "We are grateful the Court has stepped in on a temporary basis to stop the Government's attack on the refugee community, and we look forward to presenting our full case in the Court."
Read more, including the January 28 order and complaint here.
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