Court blocks refugee detention expansion
A federal court enjoined DHS from enforcing a national policy that would have mandated arrest/detention of refugees who haven't applied for permanent residency, pausing the agency's detention expansion pending litigation. The injunction provides an immediate pathway for detained or at‑risk refugee clients to challenge custody decisions. (refugeerights.org)
A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted an unopposed motion to pause the DHS “Refugee Detention Policy” on March 23, 2026; the plaintiffs named six refugees, Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, and the International Institute of New England (IINE). (democracyforward.org) A separate Minnesota case, U.H.A. v. Bondi, produced a preliminary injunction on February 27, 2026 that applies to a putative class defined as “all individuals with refugee status residing in Minnesota who have not yet adjusted to lawful permanent resident status.” (centerforhumanrights.org) U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim described the government’s new enforcement approach as transforming refugees’ “American Dream into a dystopian nightmare” and enjoined implementation of the Minnesota-targeted campaign known as Operation PARRIS. (news.bloomberglaw.com) A February 18, 2026 memorandum from USCIS and ICE instructs that refugees should be returned to federal custody for “inspection and examination” at the one-year mark and states that DHS will “return the individual to custody” if they do not voluntarily reappear. (iptp-production.s3.amazonaws.com) The same February memorandum rescinds prior ICE guidance dating to 2010 and follows an earlier December 18, 2025 rescission effort, explicitly tying Section 209 procedures of the INA to renewed custody authority. (immpolicytracking.org) Officials told courts that roughly 5,600 lawfully admitted refugees in Minnesota were targeted for Operation PARRIS, while national reporting has described the policy as placing “tens of thousands” of refugees at risk of re‑detention. (news.bloomberglaw.com) Litigation filings and press statements identify Democracy Forward, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, the Advocates for Human Rights, IINE, and Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts as lead plaintiffs and counsel across the cases. (democracyforward.org)
