The Trump administration has quietly expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s authority to detain legal refugees who are awaiting their green cards, issuing a new memo that reverses 15 years of settled policy and opens the door to nationwide enforcement just weeks after a federal judge temporarily blocked similar efforts in Minnesota.
The Department of Homeland Security memo, dated February 18 and submitted in a federal court filing, requires refugees to “return” to government custody for “inspection and examination” one year after their admission into the United States. Under U.S. law, refugees must apply for lawful permanent resident status at that one-year mark.
“This detain-and-inspect requirement ensures that refugees are re-vetted after one year, aligns post-admission vetting with that applied to other applicants for admission, and promotes public safety,” the department said in the memo signed by acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and USCIS Director Joseph Edlow.
Reversing a 15-Year Policy
The new directive represents a sharp break from a 2010 memorandum, which stated that failure to obtain lawful permanent resident status was not a “basis” for removal from the country and not a “proper basis” for detention.
Under the new policy, immigration authorities can detain individuals for the duration of the re-inspection process—a period that could stretch for months while paperwork is reviewed and background checks are updated.
The DHS did not respond to requests for comment.
The Minnesota Precedent
The nationwide expansion comes just weeks after U.S. District Judge John Tunheim in Minneapolis temporarily blocked a Trump administration policy targeting roughly 5,600 lawful refugees in Minnesota who are awaiting green cards.
In a January ruling, Tunheim said federal agents likely violated multiple federal statutes by arresting some of these refugees to subject them to additional vetting. The judge’s order temporarily halted those operations—but only in Minnesota.
The new memo appears designed to extend the same authority nationwide, potentially triggering another round of legal challenges.
Advocacy Groups React
Refugee advocacy organizations condemned the move in stark terms.
AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver called the directive “a reckless reversal of long-standing policy” that “breaks faith with people the United States lawfully admitted and promised protection.”
HIAS, formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, said the “move will cause grave harm to thousands of people who were welcomed to the United States after fleeing violence and persecution.”
The criticism reflects a deeper anxiety: if refugees who have already passed the most rigorous vetting process in the U.S. immigration system can be detained at the one-year mark, no legal pathway to safety feels secure.
The Bigger Picture
Under President Trump, the number of people in ICE detention has reached about 68,000 this month—up roughly 75% from when he took office last year. The expansion of detention authority over legal refugees is the latest front in a wide-ranging crackdown that has already sparked more than 20,000 habeas corpus lawsuits and 4,400 court rulings finding unlawful detention.
Trump’s hardline immigration agenda was a potent campaign issue that helped him win the 2024 election. But the legal system has pushed back repeatedly, with judges across the country—including Republican appointees—ordering the release of detainees held unlawfully.
What Comes Next
The new memo is almost certain to face legal challenge. Advocacy groups that successfully blocked the Minnesota operations are already signaling their intent to fight the nationwide expansion.
For refugees who arrived in the United States fleeing war, persecution, and violence—who passed background checks, medical screenings, and interviews before being granted entry—the prospect of detention at the one-year mark represents a terrifying unknown.
They did everything the government asked. They followed every rule. Now, 15 years of settled policy has been erased with a memo, and they are waiting to see whether a judge will restore it—or whether they will become numbers in a detention system that has already held 68,000 people this month.
