The Trump administration is moving to arrest and detain thousands of people who have already entered the U.S. legally as refugees and detain them indefinitely for aggressive “re-screening,” according to a report published Thursday.
Under the new policy, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and federal immigration officials can arrest and detain people who have not yet obtained the right to permanent residency, known as a green card, and subject them to interviews to assess their refugee claims while they are in detention, the Washington Post said.
The memo reversed a 2010 Obama administration policy that said failure to apply for a green card within a year of entering the US was not sufficient grounds for such arrest or detention, the newspaper reported.
The DHS action is related to an ongoing case in Minneapolis in which a federal judge last month blocked the Trump administration from making further arrests of refugees settled in Minnesota and ordered the release of at least 100 people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Operation Paris,” which targets 5,600 refugees who have not yet become permanent residents of Minnesota, is “a sweeping initiative to reexamine thousands of refugee cases through new background checks and intensive verification of refugee claims,” officials said.
In his order, District Court Judge John Tunheim, who is scheduled to hear further representations Thursday in a class-action lawsuit brought by refugee groups, blamed the detentions. “Refugees have a legitimate right to be in the United States, a right to work, a right to live in peace,” he wrote.
Wednesday’s DHS memo, also obtained by CNN, appears to directly contradict Tunheim’s order and existing “incomplete” guidance forcing arrests and detentions to be made.
“When a refugee is admitted to the United States, admission is conditional and subject to a mandatory review after one year,” the memo said.
Detained asylum seekers may remain in detention “for the duration of the inspection and examination process”.
The move comes amid a growing immigration crackdown by the Trump administration. It was reported last week that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) plans to spend $38.3bn to buy and convert warehouses into detention centers for tens of thousands of people across the country.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s approval rating on his handling of immigration issues fell to a new low of 38% in February, down from 44% in December, a Quinnipiac poll found. It follows the January killings of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretty by ICE agents during protests against immigration enforcement in Minneapolis.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
