Federal Judge Extends Order Protecting Refugees In Minnesota From Being Arrested And Deported

MINNEAPOLIS — A national judge Friday extended an bid protecting refugees successful Minnesota who are lawfully successful nan U.S. from being arrested and deported, saying a Trump management argumentation turns nan “American Dream into a dystopian nightmare.”

U.S. District Judge John Tunheim granted a mobility by advocates for refugees to person a temporary restraining order that he issued successful January into a much imperishable preliminary injunction while nan lawsuit develops.

The bid applies only successful Minnesota. But nan implications of a caller nationalist argumentation connected refugees that nan Department of Homeland Security announced Feb. 18 were a awesome portion of nan chat astatine a proceeding held by nan judge nan adjacent day.

“Minnesota refugees tin now unrecorded their lives without fearfulness that their ain authorities will snatch them disconnected nan thoroughfare and imprison them acold from loved ones,” Kimberly Grano, an lawyer pinch nan International Refugee Assistance Project, told nan Associated Press.

The Trump management asserts that it has nan correct to apprehension perchance tens of thousands of refugees crossed nan U.S. who entered nan state legally but don’t yet person greenish cards. A caller Homeland Security memo interprets migration rule to opportunity that refugees applying for greenish cards must return to national custody 1 twelvemonth aft they were admitted to nan U.S. truthful that their applications tin beryllium reviewed.

The judge expressed disbelief successful a 66-page opinion.

“This Court will not let national authorities to usage a caller and erroneous statutory mentation to terrorize refugees who immigrated to this state nether nan committedness that they would beryllium welcomed and allowed to unrecorded successful peace, acold from nan persecution they fled,” Tunheim said.

He said nan U.S. decades agone promised refugees fleeing persecution that they could build a caller life aft rigorous inheritance checks.

“We promised them nan dream that 1 time they could execute nan American Dream,” Tunheim wrote. “The Government’s caller argumentation breaks that committedness — without legislature authorization — and raises superior law concerns. The caller argumentation turns nan refugees’ American Dream into a dystopian nightmare.”

Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said successful a connection Friday nighttime that nan ruling was “yet different lawless and activistic bid from a national judge” and that nan Trump management expected to beryllium “vindicated successful court.”

“USCIS is committed to rooting retired fraud and protecting nan nationalist information and nationalist information interests of nan American group by screening and vetting aliens,” nan connection said.

Justice Department lawyer Brantley Mayers said during a tribunal proceeding past week that nan authorities should person nan correct to apprehension refugees 1 twelvemonth aft entering nan U.S., but he besides indicated that would not ever happen.

The judge noted that 1 exile successful nan case, identified arsenic D. Doe, was arrested successful January aft being told that personification had struck his car.

“He was instantly flown to Texas, wherever he was interrogated astir his exile status. He was kept successful ‘shackles and handcuffs’ for sixteen hours. D. Doe was yet released connected nan streets of Texas, near to find his measurement backmost to Minnesota,” Tunheim said.

Karnowski and White constitute for nan Associated Press and reported from Minneapolis and Detroit, respectively. AP writer Rebecca Boone successful Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.