A federal judge ordered a temporary halt to the arrest and detention of refugees in Minnesota in January, and extended that order protecting refugees from detention on Friday, according to multiple reports. Federal district judge John R. Tunheim issued a ruling on Friday, February 27, forbidding the federal government from arresting and detaining Minnesota refugees who have no grounds for removal and are awaiting their green cards, according to research. The court issued a preliminary injunction enjoining defendants from arresting or detaining refugees in Minnesota on the basis of not yet being adjusted to lawful permanent resident status, the court stated.
This legal clash is exemplified by the case of a Venezuelan family. According to one of the daughters, the family fled to the U.S. in 2021 after obtaining refugee status due to government retaliation in Venezuela. They settled in Minnesota in 2023, multiple reports indicate. According to the woman, masked officers arrested her and her mother in St. Paul, telling them their legal status was under review. D. Doe, a refugee, was arrested at home on January 11, 2026, after being lured outside by a man claiming to have hit his car, research shows. Three refugees told The Associated Press they are living in fear due to inconclusive interviews with immigration authorities.
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, according to research. According to the government, 8 U.S.C. § 1159(a) gives Department of Homeland Security officials the power to arrest and detain a refugee with no limits on detention after 366 days from lawful admission. The court ruled that § 1159(a) provides no such power for indefinite detention, research indicates. By law, adjustment to lawful permanent resident status cannot occur until one year has passed. The government’s position flatly contradicts the plain meaning of § 1159(a) and contravenes forty-five years of agency practice, the court stated, adding that the new policy breaks a promise to refugees without congressional authorization and raises serious constitutional concerns.
Immigration authorities have arrested or questioned dozens of refugees in Minnesota, with more detentions likely nationwide, attorneys and advocates say. Refugee advocates have said tens of thousands of refugees could face arrest nationally, according to research. The specific legal grounds or evidence being used by immigration authorities to justify these arrests remain unclear.
In response, a group of refugees in other states filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to block new DHS policies, multiple reports indicate. Attorneys for Minnesota school districts and a teachers union asked a judge to block a policy change allowing enforcement near schools, according to multiple reports.
Administratively, the Trump administration announced in February it was drawing down its Minnesota operation, multiple reports show. The White House moved this month to oust Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to multiple reports. DHS rescinded restrictions on enforcement in sensitive locations like schools, multiple reports indicate.
Enforcement patterns show there were about 11% fewer immigration arrests in February nationwide, but levels were nearly four times higher than under Biden, according to a New York Times analysis. Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller reportedly berated agents to conduct 3,000 arrests per day, multiple reports say.
Judicial pressures are also mounting. More than a dozen federal judges told The New York Times they were pressured to order removals or risk losing their jobs. Judges were told to grant motions to dismiss immigrants' cases and deny bond to those who crossed illegally, multiple reports indicate. More than 100 immigration judges have left their posts under Trump, according to multiple reports.
Due process concerns have emerged, with a federal judge ordering ICE to release a Minneapolis man unlawfully detained for 50 days, multiple reports show. The man was arrested on January 22 and flown to Texas despite a court order, according to multiple reports. One of his attorneys wrote in an affidavit that agents broke a car window and arrested the man and his toddler without a warrant. Habeas corpus challenges peaked on February 6 and have since declined, a Politico analysis found.
Family separation issues persist, as a major report has found the Trump administration is deporting parents without asking about their children, violating its own policies. Interviews with dozens of parents and others revealed they were deported quickly after detention without arranging care for their children. Zain Lakhani, director of migrant rights and justice at WRC, stated immigration officials did not ask about children at arrest or ensure safe care.
Case management has shifted, with the Trump administration abandoning over 23,000 criminal cases in its first six months, according to a sweeping analysis from ProPublica. The investigation found federal prosecutors launched 32,000 new immigration-related cases, nearly triple under Biden. The Justice Department dropped nearly 5,000 drug cases and over 1,300 terrorism cases, multiple reports indicate.
Labor and parole issues are also in flux. New emergency rules allow U.S. farms to hire more migrant workers and pay less in wages, according to multiple reports. The Department of Labor warned deportation raids are exacerbating farm labor shortages. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore legal status for immigrants who used the CBP One app, multiple reports show. Roughly 985,000 people used the CBP One app before it was shut down, according to multiple reports. DHS threatened immigrants with arrest and removal if they didn't leave after parole termination, multiple reports indicate.
Enforcement near sensitive locations has drawn attention, with a public high school student from The Bronx released after nearly 10 months in detention, multiple reports show. The student was arrested during an immigration court appearance, according to multiple reports. Federal agents killed two citizens in Minneapolis in January, multiple reports indicate.
Several unknowns remain, including how many refugees have been arrested or detained nationwide under the new DHS policies and what their current statuses are. The timeline or criteria for the Trump administration to appeal the federal judge's injunction in Minnesota is unclear, as the government has not yet appealed the judge’s ruling, according to research. The impact on refugee communities' access to legal services, employment, and social services is not fully known, nor are any ongoing criminal investigations or internal reviews regarding allegations of due process violations or misconduct by immigration agents during arrests.
Research and data underpin these developments. Emergency lawsuits from immigrants seeking release from detention have declined in recent weeks, multiple reports show. The Trump administration reinterpreted precedent to deny bond to arrested immigrants, according to multiple reports. Researchers interviewed 163 women and 1,094 men at reception centers in Honduras, multiple reports indicate.