US judge blocks Trump administration from detaining thousands of refugees
Boston federal judge blocks policy affecting potentially 100,000 refugees
A federal judge on Monday blocked US President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing a new policy that would subject thousands of refugees to arrest and detention if after a year in the United States they had yet to obtain green cards.
US District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston acted at the request of six refugees and two advocacy groups who argued the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) policy was an unlawful departure from decades of practice.
The plaintiffs alleged the policy exposed more than 100,000 lawfully admitted refugees whose adjustments of immigration status applications are pending before the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to potential detention.
Steven Bressler, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the liberal legal group Democracy Forward, said in a statement the “ruling affirms that the government cannot manipulate the law to justify the mass arrest and detention of people”.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The policy was adopted as part of “Operation PARRIS”, a programme announced in January that DHS billed as “a sweeping initiative” to re-examine thousands of refugee cases.