In a twist of events, a US judge has stopped the Trump administration from arresting and detaining Somali refugees living legally in the state of Minnesota, following weeks of panic and shocking arrests.
On Wednesday, January 28, Judge John R. Tunheim ordered the government to release all detained refugees immediately and stop the controversial operation that had seen more than 100 people taken from their homes, some even flown to detention camps in Texas.
The crackdown, known as “Operation Parris,” had targeted thousands of refugees across the US for what officials called “re-vetting,” which was in reality a new background check on refugees already cleared to live in America.
Many of those detained were Somalis who had fled war and persecution, now living peaceful lives in Minnesota. But in recent weeks, families have been thrown into chaos as plainclothes officers appeared at their doors pretending to be neighbours, then arrested them on the spot.
Accounts by a victim found that he was tricked into stepping outside when a man told him he had hit his car. “When I went to check, armed men surrounded me,” he said. “I fled my country to escape government repression. I can’t believe it’s happening again here.”
Additionally, his wife had become too afraid to return home since the arrest, sleeping at friends’ houses and fearing the agents would come back.
Lawyers said some detainees were flown thousands of kilometres to Texas, only to be released with no money, no documents, and no idea how to get back home.
Judge Tunheim said the court could not ignore the “stories of terror and trauma” suffered by refugees, calling the operation a clear case of irreparable harm.
The ruling comes days after the passing away of Alex Pretti on the street, at the hands of federal officers implementing the government’s aggressive enforcement of immigration laws on American residents of Somali descent.
Considering the hundreds of habeas petitions filed in contest of individual detentions, human rights groups praised the ruling as a big win for justice and human dignity.
“This was an unprecedented assault on refugee rights,” said Michele Garnett McKenzie from The Advocates for Human Rights.
The US government had yet to comment on the ruling, the judge’s order has brought relief and hope.