US judge halts arrests of lawfully resettled refugees in Minnesota

A federal judge in the US has blocked the Trump administration from detaining lawfully resettled refugees in Minnesota, following reports of more than 100 recent arrests under a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiative, media reports said on Wednesday.

The ruling, issued Wednesday by US District Judge John R. Tunheim, temporarily prohibits the arrest and detention of refugees resettled in Minnesota while a class-action lawsuit challenging the policy continues, according to The Guardian.

The court also ordered the immediate release of all detained refugees in the state and those transferred to Texas within five days.

The arrests were carried out under "Operation Parris," a DHS program that seeks to re-vet approximately 5,600 refugees across the US who have not yet gained permanent residency.

Some detainees were reportedly flown to Texas, interrogated, and then abruptly released without assistance to return home.

One plaintiff, identified as D. Doe, was arrested by plainclothes officers after being lured outside his home.

"I fled my home country because I was facing government repression. I can't believe it's happening again here," he said.

Michele Garnett McKenzie of The Advocates for Human Rights called the detentions "an unprecedented assault on core human rights."

Judge Tunheim said the court found that "the threat of irreparable harm favors immediate relief," citing accounts of trauma and fear among those detained.