Amid ongoing ICE crackdown, court order gives refugees in Minnesota respite

A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the arrest and detention of lawfully resettled refugees in Minnesota, and has also ordered the release of those who have been detained.

The order was issued on Friday amid a growing crackdown on immigrants in Minnesota by the administration of US President Donald Trump. Under Operation PARRIS Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening, immigration enforcement agents, at the direction of the Department of Homeland Security, have been reexamining the status and claims of refugees in the US.

"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," reads a public statement by John R. Tunheim.

"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 neighbours to fear and chaos," the statement continues.

The order follows a class action lawsuit by refugees in Minnesota represented by the International Refugee Assistance Project, Berger Montague, and the Centre for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of unlawfully detaining refugees to lay the groundwork for deportations.

"Refugees in Minnesota are terrified," Megan Hauptman, a litigation fellow with IRAP, told The New Arab, noting that most of these refugees are law-abiding citizens without criminal convictions.

"This goes against the government's claims that they're going after criminals. It's a government-sponsored campaign of terror," she said.

She pointed out that many refugees who have relocated to the US have experienced brutal government crackdowns and persecution for their identities.

"This is forcing many people to relive experiences of being targeted for their identities. People thought that by being in the US, they could live a stable existence," said Hauptman.

It is unclear how many of these refugees have been arrested. Some were seen shackled in transit, and some were reportedly sent to a detention facility in Texas.

Members of Minnesota's Somali community, who appear to be the primary target of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in the state, say they have generally been keeping a low profile for the last two months.

Many say they are afraid to go to work or school, and many of those who do go out carry their passports or other identification. Areas where Somalis would normally gather in Minnesota are largely empty.