Protesters sit on the ground after police declared an unlawful assembly during a noise demonstration outside the Graduate by Hilton Minneapolis hotel on January 28, 2026, in Minneapolis.
| Photo Credit: AP
A U.S. federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration on Wednesday (January 28, 2026) from detaining refugees in Minnesota awaiting permanent resident status and ordered the release of those in detention.
U.S. President Donald Trump has sent thousands of federal immigration agents to the Democratic state as part of a sweeping crackdown that has sparked outrage over the deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of officers.
Immigration authorities launched a program this month to re-examine the legal status of the approximately 5,600 refugees in Minnesota who have not yet been given green cards.
In his order Wednesday (January 28, 2026), U.S. District Judge John Tunheim said that the Trump administration could continue to enforce immigration laws and review refugees’ status, but that it must do so “without arresting and detaining refugees.”
“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,” Judge Tunheim wrote.
“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.”
The order drew a quick rebuke from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a powerful figure who leads Mr. Trump’s hardline immigration policy.
“The judicial sabotage of democracy is unending,” Mr. Miller wrote on X.
Judge Tunheim’s order requires any refugee detained under the Minnesota status review, known as Operation PARRIS, to be “immediately released from custody.”
Refugees awaiting their permanent resident status “have undergone rigorous background checks and vetting, been approved by multiple federal agencies for entry, been given permission to work, received support from the government, and been resettled in the United States,” Judge Tunheim wrote.
“These individuals were admitted to the country, have followed the rules, and are waiting to have their status adjusted to lawful permanent residents of the United States.”
In a separate order Wednesday (January 28, 2026), another federal judge in Minnesota criticised Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for failing to comply with court orders.
The judge, who had ordered acting ICE head Todd Lyons to appear for a hearing that was later cancelled, said ICE “has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”
He had requested Mr. Lyons’ appearance after the agency delayed orders to give a detainee a bond hearing or release him. The detainee was later released, and Mr. Lyons was not required to appear.
“ICE is not a law unto itself,” the judge wrote.
Published – January 29, 2026 04:37 pm IST
