Local refugees filed the first lawsuit of its kind against the Trump administration for its new policy that would allow immigration agents to detain many refugees without a warrant.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Massachusetts’ federal court, names Department of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons and their departments.
Tens of thousands of refugees come to the United States every year, often looking to permanently resettle after fleeing dangerous circumstances in their home countries. The sweeping new directive, issued less than 10 days ago, allows for immigration enforcement agents to arrest and detain any refugee who’s been in the United States for more than a year and has yet to adjust to lawful permanent resident status by successfully getting a green card.
Experts and advocates say the change could result in many refugees detained even if they’ve followed U.S. immigration policy and don’t have any criminal backgrounds.
The plaintiffs are asking the judge for an immediate injunction to stop the federal government from carrying out the policy.
“I fled death threats and waited nearly a decade to resettle as a refugee in the United States,” Mona C., an anonymous plaintiff from Massachusetts, said in a written statement. “My family has worked hard to restart our lives, but now I am worried that ICE might arrest me. Who will take care of my children if I am arrested and detained? We came to the U.S. to live in peace and safety, not to relive the horrors of our past.”
She and five other refugees are suing the Trump administration, along with resettlement agencies Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts and the International Institute of New England. They are represented by Democracy Forward and the International Refugee Assistance Project.
Plaintiffs said the policy has already led to arrests and detentions of refugees, although none that they knew of in Massachusetts.
“DHS is threatening them with arrest and detention for an indefinite period of time,” said Rabbi James Greene, CEO of Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts. “Without any crime, without any cause, and without any reason. Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts is stepping into this moment because the Bible’s most often repeated commandment is to welcome the stranger.”
He said the policy could make at least a thousand clients of his resettlement agency vulnerable to detention.
DHS says the policy is changing because it wants additional vetting for refugees. Recently, the Trump administration said it would be sending out letters telling refugees to come to an appointment with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and face possible detention.
Jeff Thielman, who leads the immigrant advocacy organization International Institute of New England, said the policy is an “impossible requirement to meet” because the government doesn’t let refugees apply for green cards until they’ve been in the United States for a year.
Roughly 700 refugees his group works with could be detained under the policy.
“We’re gonna be sending people to interviews with these clients if they’re brought to an interview at USCIS. We’re gonna document what happened to them. If they are detained or separated in any way from their families, chances are they’re the breadwinner in that family,” Thielman said, adding that additional case management will be needed to support families.
“The Trump administration is clear it intends to take its terror campaign against refugees in Minnesota national,” said Ghita Schwarz, who leads U.S. litigation at the International Refugee Assistance Project. “All Americans should be concerned about this lawless push to imprison people who have done nothing wrong.”
Plaintiffs argue the policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it was issued without required notice and comment rule making, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, which prevent unreasonable search and seizures and deprivation of liberty without due process.
The policy also presents a catch-22, as the federal government has already frozen U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ ability to adjudicate pending applications for people from many countries — leaving over 100,000 refugees in limbo.
The organizations say the policy reverses more than 45 years of settled practice and federal immigration law. Previous law made it clear that a refugee did not have to adjust their immigration status to avoid arrest or detention.
Refugees spend months, years, and sometimes, more than a decade, waiting overseas to be vetted and approved to come to the United States.
Farida is an Afghan refugee who resettled near Springfield, Massachusetts, in early 2024. GBH News agreed to grant her a pseudonym due to her fears of being detained by ICE and returning to Afghanistan.
She could be detained under the policy because she hasn’t successfully adjusted her immigration status since arriving — her green card application has been pending for 15 months. At first, she couldn’t believe the United States would make such a change.
“I heard my friends in Minnesota who are refugees were detained by ICE,” she said. “I was really shocked.”
In Afghanistan, Farida worked as a research assistant in the field of women empowerment and employment. She was stopped several times on her way to work by the Taliban, asked why she was outside without male members of her family.
“That was a scary situation for me — my family really depended on my income and I would fear my life, going to work, being questioned every day for what I was doing,” she said.
DHS did not immediately respond to questions about the lawsuit.
