Federal district judge John R. Tunheim issued a ruling on February 27, 2025, forbidding the federal government from arresting and detaining Minnesota refugees who have no grounds for removal and are awaiting their green cards. The judge described the government's position as a 'dystopian nightmare' and noted that it 'contradicts the plain meaning of § 1159(a) and contravenes forty-five years of agency practice.' The court ruled that 8 U.S.C. § 1159(a) does not give DHS officials the power to arrest and detain refugees with no limits on the length of detention. The case was brought after a refugee identified as D. Doe was arrested at his home on January 11, 2026, after being tricked by a man claiming he had hit his car, according to the court's description of the case.
Attorneys and advocates said the Trump administration has arrested or questioned dozens of refugees in Minnesota, with more detentions likely nationwide. A group of refugees in other states filed a lawsuit to block new DHS policies that could lead to detention of tens of thousands of refugees, according to multiple reports. Refugee advocates have said tens of thousands of refugees could face arrest nationally. The government argued in a February 18 memo that it could indefinitely detain any refugees in the US who have not yet received green cards, but has not yet appealed the judge's ruling.
In a separate case, a federal judge overturned the Trump administration's ban on gender-affirming care for children, criticizing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 'wanton disregard' for the law. Judge Mustafa T Kasubhai barred the administration from implementing similar policies to restrict care nationally by withholding funding, according to multiple reports.
Emergency lawsuits from immigrants seeking release from detention have declined in recent weeks as the Trump administration pulled back slightly from aggressive immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, according to multiple reports. The administration announced in February it was drawing down its Minnesota operation and moved to oust Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Nationwide immigration arrests in February were about 11 percent fewer than previous months but still nearly four times higher than under the Biden administration, according to a New York Times analysis.
A report by the Women's Refugee Commission and Physicians for Human Rights found that the Trump administration is deporting a significant number of parents without asking if they have children or allowing them to decide whether to bring their children, in apparent violation of its own policies. More than a dozen federal judges who were fired or forced out say the Trump administration pressured them to order deportations or risk losing their jobs. The Justice Department fired the acting head of the immigration court system and three other top officials on Trump's first day in office, according to multiple reports. The Independent reported that more than 100 immigration judges have left their posts since Trump took office.
Immigrants who express political opinions, including criticism of Israel or pro-Palestinian protests, can now be denied a path to citizenship under new DHS guidance, according to The New York Times, citing internal DHS training materials. Green card approvals have been slashed by about half over the last year as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration, according to multiple reports.
Two Homeland Security officials said ICE has been instructed to cut back on arrests inside courthouses and to no longer enter homes without a warrant. However, a federal judge ruled that ICE must release a Minneapolis asylum seeker who was unlawfully detained for 50 days, noting agents did not have a warrant. Judge Katherine Menendez found that ICE agents had entered the asylum seeker's home without a warrant, indicating a possible disconnect between official policy changes and actual enforcement on the ground.
A ProPublica analysis found that the Trump administration abandoned more than 23,000 criminal cases within the first six months of his presidency, including 11,000 in Attorney General Pam Bondi's first month. At the same time, federal prosecutors launched 32,000 new immigration-related cases, nearly triple the amount under the Biden administration.
New emergency rules took effect January 1 allowing U.S. farms to hire more H-2A workers and pay lower wages, according to multiple reports. The Department of Labor warned that stepped-up immigration enforcement could eliminate an estimated 225,000 farm workers.