The Trump administration has given ICE officers wider power to detain legal refugees who have lived in the U.S. for a year but still don’t have a green card. CBS News got a memo from the government that explains the new rule. It was dated February 18 and shared in a court filing.
Refugees enter the U.S. legally after proving they are escaping danger because of their race, religion, nationality, political views, or social group. For years, the U.S. brought in tens of thousands of refugees. Most waited a long time in camps and passed many security checks before coming here. But under Trump, the refugee program has mostly shut down, with only small exceptions for certain groups.
This new rule focuses on refugees already living in the U.S. Federal law says they must apply for a green card within one year of arriving. Now the administration says if they haven’t become permanent residents by that time, they must go back into government custody so their cases can be checked again.
The memo was issued by acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow. It says refugees can return to custody on their own by going to an immigration office for an interview. If they don’t show up, ICE officers must find them, arrest them, and detain them.
The memo also says ICE can keep refugees in custody during the full review process. Officials will look for signs of fraud or anything that could show they are a threat to public safety or national security. If problems appear, the refugees could lose their legal status and face deportation.
This order overturns the old ICE policy. Before, not having a green card after a year was not enough to detain someone. ICE also had to decide within 48 hours if the refugee should be released or placed in deportation court.
The Trump administration has been reopening old immigration cases for people who already had legal status. In November, officials were told to review refugee cases from the Biden era and possibly interview people again.
While most attention has gone to the crackdown on illegal immigration, the administration has also worked to tighten legal immigration. After a Thanksgiving week shooting in Washington, D.C., which involved an Afghan national, USCIS paused legal applications from people in many high-risk countries.
Late last year, the government started Operation PARRIS, which rechecked thousands of refugee cases in Minnesota. Many refugees were detained and flown to Texas for questioning until a judge stepped in.
The administration says all these actions help protect national security. But immigrant advocates say the policy targets people who came legally after long and tough vetting.
Beth Oppenheim, head of HIAS, a refugee support group, said, “This policy is trying to detain and maybe deport thousands of people who are legally here, people the U.S. invited after years of extreme vetting.”
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