U.H.A. v. Bondi: Challenging the Trump administration’s detention of refugees in Minnesota

On Friday, January 9, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would be targeting for investigation up to 5,600 lawfully admitted refugees residing in Minnesota through a campaign called “Operation Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening” (“Operation PARRIS”). Following this, lawfully present refugees in Minnesota–including families and children–have been subject to warrantless arrest, unauthorized detention, and coercive interrogation in difficult conditions under this policy. In numerous court cases filed by individuals, DHS has claimed that all refugees who have been in the country for more than one year and have not yet been granted lawful permanent resident (LPR) status must be detained. DHS has taken this position even though refugees cannot obtain LPR status until the one-year mark after their arrival, and even though DHS itself has announced a freeze on deciding LPR applications for refugees.

IRAP is counsel in a lawsuit representing a group of refugees who seek to bring the case as a class action on behalf of themselves and similarly situated refugees in Minnesota.  The plaintiffs are seeking to end DHS’s illegal policy of arresting and detaining lawfully present refugees.

Our clients

Plaintiffs include five refugees from Africa, Asia, and Latin America who have been detained or are at imminent risk of detention under this policy. Plaintiffs and their families were lawfully admitted to the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (“USRAP”) after comprehensive security vetting and are not subject to any ground of removability under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). Still, they are being subjected to or fear DHS’s illegal, discriminatory, and cruel policy of refugee detention.

The lawsuit also includes Plaintiff Advocates for Human Rights, a 501(c)(3) non-profit legal services organization with offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota who has devoted the last several weeks to responding to Operation PARRIS, including by developing a legal response, supporting detained refugee families, and representing detained refugees in habeas petitions.

Impact

Announcements related to Operation PARRIS indicate that DHS, along with its subagencies Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), plan to target all unadjusted refugees in the state of Minnesota, regardless of any real indication of fraud, even against the backdrop of USCIS’s simultaneous indefinite freeze on adjudicating LPR applications of refugees. While the full impact of the policy is unknown at this time, we estimate that more than 100 refugees, including children, have been subject to unlawful arrests, detentions and interrogations under this policy, and that DHS plans to subject many hundreds if not thousands more to the same unlawful treatment. This lawsuit aims to protect all refugees in Minnesota who have been detained or are at risk of detention pursuant to DHS’s policy.

Case status

• January 24, 2026: Case is filed in United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (“Court” or “District Court”). Plaintiffs simultaneously file a motion for a temporary restraining order and postponement of agency action, as well as a motion for class certification.
• January 28, 2026: Court issues order granting Plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order.
• January 31, 2026: Defendants filed a motion to dissolve the TRO.
• February 3, 2026: Plaintiffs replied in opposition to TRO dissolution.
• February 4, 2026: Court scheduled a motion hearing on the TRO dissolution.
• February 4, 2026: Plaintiffs filed a motion for contempt due to Defendants’ numerous TRO violations.
• February 9, 2026: Court issued an order denying Defendants’ motion to dissolve the TRO and granting Plaintiffs’ request for discovery.
• February 27, 2026: Court issued an order granting a preliminary injunction in part, and enjoining Defendants from arresting or detaining unadjusted refugees in Minnesota.
• March 18, 2026: Defendants filed an appeal and a motion to expedite before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• April 14, 2026: Plaintiffs filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal with the District Court.

Berger Montague and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law were co-counsel in this lawsuit.