Trump administration gives ICE power to indefinitely detain legal refugees in US
The Trump administration has given Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers broad powers to detain lawful refugees who have yet to secure permanent US residency, according to a new government memo.
The memo, dated 18 February in a federal court filing, gives ICE sweeping new powers to detain legal refugees indefinitely for “rescreening”.
It says that refugees who entered the US legally must subject themselves to custody for "inspection and examination" a year after their admission into the US. The Washington Post first reported the memo.
In sum, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is instructing federal immigration officers to arrest anyone who has yet to obtain permanent residence, or a green card, and subject them to interviews in custody after one year.
US law currently states that refugees must apply for lawful permanent residency one year after their arrival in the country.
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Reuters reported that the memo is a departure from the Obama administration’s ICE policy, which said that failure to obtain a green card by refugees legally admitted into the US was not a "basis" for removal from the country and not a "proper basis" for detention.
"[DHS] must treat the one-year mark as a mandatory re-vetting point for all refugees who have not adjusted to [Lawful Permanent Resident] status, ensuring either that they are scheduled to 'return' to custody for inspection or, if they do not comply, that they be 'returned' to custody through enforcement action," the memo says.
The memo says refugees can be stripped of their legal status and processed for deportation if they raise "red flags" during their examinations. The processing time for a green card for legal refugees can take eight to 22 months, according to some US law firms.
Minnesota crackdown
The memo relates to an ongoing case in Minnesota, where the Trump administration has faced public backlash, including from some allies, over its immigration crackdown.
A US federal judge issued a "temporary restraining order" in late January to prevent the Trump administration from arresting lawfully resettled refugees in Minnesota and ordered those detained to be released.
US district judge John Tunheim in Minneapolis said that ICE agents likely violated multiple federal statutes by arresting lawful refugees and subjecting them to additional interrogations.
"Refugees have a legal right to be in the United States, a right to work, a right to live peacefully - and importantly, a right not to be subjected to the terror of being arrested and detained without warrants or cause in their homes or on their way to religious services or to buy groceries," Tunheim wrote.
Refugees awaiting their permanent resident status "have undergone rigorous background checks and vetting, been approved by multiple federal agencies for entry, been given permission to work, received support from the government, and been resettled in the United States," Tunheim said.
"These individuals were admitted to the country, have followed the rules, and are waiting to have their status adjusted to lawful permanent residents of the United States,” he added.
As has been the case with ICE arrests across the US, the crackdown in Minnesota has often been violent, and immigrants and refugees have been dragged out of their homes and cars and put into a local detention facility before being shipped off to a site in Texas, where conservative judges are more likely to be in line with Trump administration policies.
Trump has pulled back ICE agents from Minnesota amid public backlash. Two US citizens were killed by ICE agents in the state, including one who was legally carrying a firearm.
More broadly, Trump has shown no sign of backing down from his immigration crackdown.
Last week, US media reported that the administration was exploring cities and counties across the US to build more detention facilities to hold immigrants in a massive $45bn expansion of ICE’s funding.
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