Convinced that Trump administration officials “seek to transform a system built on promised opportunities and freedoms into one of uncertainty and indefinite confinement,” John Tunheim, a federal judge in Minnesota, blocked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy that would allow arrest and detain thousands of refugees residing in Minnesota.

“The Court need not look far to see the grave and immediate threat of irreparable harm to the refugees.

Refugees who have already been detained and released, as well as those who belong to the alleged group but have not yet been arrested, face a concrete and constant risk of arrest or re-arrest if they are not granted a protective measure. This fear is neither exaggerated nor speculative; it is a logical and entirely legitimate response to what has transpired.

Until the legality of this dramatic shift is addressed at trial, the Court will not allow those who trusted in this Nation’s promise of safety to be greeted in handcuffs,” Tunheim wrote in granting refugee advocates’ request to transform a temporary restraining order, issued in January, into a more lasting preliminary measure while the legal process continues.

The judge also granted a class-action preliminary injunction based on five grounds, finding that the refugee plaintiffs are likely to have success in their legal claims regarding the Refugee Act provision, as well as procedural due process, substantive due process, the Fourth Amendment, and the Administrative Procedure Act claims.

“The Government’s actions in this case raise the question: Why? The government suggests it is looking for terrorists, but there is not a single piece of evidence on record that the Named Plaintiffs or the purported group they claim to represent pose serious risks to national security,” he emphasized.

Although Judge John Tunheim’s decision applies only in Minnesota,This has broader implications regarding the national policy announced by the Department of Homeland Security to detain refugees. In fact, during a hearing last week, Brantley Mayers, a lawyer for the Department of Justice, argued that the government should be able to arrest refugees one year after their entry into the country, although he clarified that this measure would not necessarily apply in all cases.