Ruling prevents mass detention of refugees under Trump policy

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Published  March 24, 2026 12:45pm EDT
FOX Local

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 16: The U.S. Department Of Homeland Security logo is displayed at a Citizenship and Immigration Services office on January 16, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

On Monday, a federal judge blocked a new Trump-era policy that would have led to the arrest and detention of thousands of refugees by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after a year if they had yet to obtain lawful permanent resident status, or green cards. 

According to Reuters, six refugees and two advocacy groups argued the DHS policy was unlawful and a departure from decades of practice. 

The Brief

    • A federal judge blocked a Trump administration policy that could have led to the arrest and detention of thousands of refugees without green cards after one year. 
    • Plaintiffs argued DHS misinterpreted the law, saying "custody" historically meant a check-in process, not detention. 
    • The policy, part of "Operation PARRIS" could have impacted over 100,000 immigrants across the country with pending status applications. 

What we know:

The group consisting of the six refugees, the Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts and the International Institute of New England, filed the lawsuit in February. 

The administration deemed the law required lawfully admitted refugees to return to the "custody" of DHS for inspection if they had not obtained a green card after a year. 

The plaintiffs argued that the policy was a misinterpretation of the law, saying that for decades, the government had interpreted "custody" to mean only that refugees potentially report for an interview. 

DHS said the initial focus would be on around 5,600 refugees who had not yet been given green cards, but the plaintiffs said that left the potential for over 100,000 lawfully admitted refugees in other states whose status applications are still pending. 

"Custody" does not mean "detention"

What they're saying:

The ruling judge, U.S. District Judge Richard Sterns, agreed with the plaintiffs, saying "the term ‘custody’ has not historically been treated as synonymous with the term ‘detention.’"


 

The backstory:

The policy was part of a program that DHS announced in January called "Operation PARRIS." It was designed to be a "sweeping initiative" to reexamine thousands of refugee cases. 


U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a memorandum in December and February that reinterpreted immigration law to mandate the detention of any refugee who failed to obtain a green card after one year in the United States. 

THE SOURCE: This story was written with information provided by Reuters. This story was reported from Orlando. 


 

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