US judge blocks Trump administration from detaining thousands of refugees

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

March 23, 2026 3:33 PM EDT Updated 11 hours ago


BOSTON, March 23 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday blocked U.S. 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.

U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston acted at the request of six refugees ​and two advocacy groups who argued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's policy was an unlawful ​departure from decades of practice.

The plaintiffs alleged the policy exposed over 100,000 lawfully ⁠admitted refugees whose adjustments of immigration status applications are pending before the U.S. 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.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-judge-blocks-trump-administration-detaining-thousands-refugees-2026-03-23/

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Link to International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) PRESS RELEASE - COURT BLOCKS UNLAWFUL NATIONAL REFUGEE DETENTION POLICY.

Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://democracyforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ECF-9-1-Stay-Memorandum.pdf

[Bayard]

1. They want to only give people a year to get their Green Card

It usually takes much longer than that. Three years, I think? And that's if they apply right away.