The federal District Court in Minnesota (John R. Tunheim) has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Attorney General, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies from implementing a new operation to target and reexamine the legal status of Minnesota’s 5,600 refugees who have not secured permanent resident status. According to the allegations of the complaint, the defendants “have implemented a practice of arresting and detaining — without notice or warrant — individuals previously screened and admitted into the United States as refugees.” The plaintiff refugees sought a class action to stop the program.
One plaintiff recounted how he had been lured out of his house by a man in plain clothes who said he had hit the refugee’s car. When the refugee went outside, he was surrounded by armed men, arrested and immediately flown to Texas, where he was kept in “shackles and handcuffs” for 16 hours. He was ultimately released on the street and left to find his way back to Minnesota.
The Court found that the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that the defendants had no authority to detain them and that the program likely violates federal law. It also found that they were likely to suffer irreparable harm and that the balance of harm favors the plaintiffs over the defendants. It also found that the plaintiffs were likely to satisfy the requirements for a class action case.
The Court enjoined the defendants from arresting or detaining members of the putative class on the basis of their refugee status and ordered them to “immediately” release any members of the class in custody. (U.H.A. v. Bondi, D. MN, No.26-417, 1/28/26.)
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