A judge ruled that refugees who have been detained under Operation PARRIS should be released, and those who were transferred out of Minnesota must be brought back.

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge has ruled that lawful refugees who have been detained by federal agents as part of Operation PARRIS need to be released from custody within five days. 

“Operation PARRIS” (Operation Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening) is a Department of Homeland Security investigation that was launched Jan. 9, targeting roughly 6,000 refugees in Minnesota without green cards. Homeland Security says this operation was an attempt to “root out fraud.” 

A class action lawsuit was filed seeking an immediate injunction to stop the operation. Lawyer Michelle Drake, who is representing the plaintiffs of the case, said, “These are people who entered this country legally under affirmative refugee programs.”

“Many people live in refugee camps in other countries for years, waiting for their admission to the United States, they undergo extensive background screening, even biometric screening, before they come to this country, they’re given work authorization. These are people who are working with us,” Drake said. 

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On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim ordered refugees who have been detained under the operation should be released, and anyone taken out of Minnesota needs to be brought back and then released. 

In the conclusion, Judge Tunheim wrote that this order is temporary and that it does not impact Homeland Security’s lawful enforcement of immigration laws. 

“They are not committing crimes on our streets, nor did they illegally cross the border. 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. At its best, America serves as a haven of individual liberties in a world too often full of tyranny and cruelty. We abandon that ideal when we subject our neighbors to fear and chaos.”