Judge blocks arrest and detention of some lawful refugees in Minnesota

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Fri 27 Feb 2026 18.43 EST
Last modified on Fri 27 Feb 2026 18.50 EST


A federal judge has blocked a Trump administration policy that allowed immigration authorities to arrest and detain certain refugees in Minnesota, ruling that the government relied on an incorrect interpretation of federal law and unlawfully targeted people who had already been admitted to the US.

In an order on Friday, the court said the administration’s approach had effectively been “terrorizing” refugees by subjecting them to arrest and potentially indefinite detention despite their lawful status. The judge concluded that federal immigration law does not give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) authority to detain refugees simply because more than one year has passed since their arrival in the country.

“Decades ago, as a nation, we made a solemn promise to refugees fleeing persecution: that after rigorous vetting, they would be welcomed to the United States and given the opportunity to rebuild their lives,” the opinion said. “The government’s new policy breaks that promise – without congressional authorization – and raises serious constitutional concerns. “The new policy turns the refugees’ American Dream into a dystopian nightmare,” it adds.

The dispute centers on the administration’s interpretation of a statute governing the process by which refugees can obtain lawful permanent resident status. The Trump administration has argued that once a refugee reaches the 366th day after lawful admission (the point at which they become eligible to apply for a green card), immigration authorities may arrest and detain them for days, weeks or even months. The court rejected that interpretation, finding that the statute provides no such detention power.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/27/minnesota-refugees-trump-administration

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Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.230526/gov.uscourts.mnd.230526.133.0.pdf

REFERENCES

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143607340
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143614420

This is a class action case. The hearing for this latest action had been scheduled for Feb. 19 and this newest order is apparently the result of that (extending the earlier TRO that happened in January).

[OldBaldy1701E]

1. And, they will ignore that as they have done with all the other 'court orders'.

Of course, we already know this, but we are still thinking that a corrupted, broken system is going to magically repair itself and then repair all of the damage done by this regime.

In my opinion, that borders on delusion. Which I find rather scary, to be honest.