Trump Administration Expands ICE Authority to Detain Legal Refugees Amid Security Fears
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers now possess enhanced authority to detain lawful refugees who have not yet achieved permanent residency status in the United States. This shift, outlined in a government memo released Wednesday, reflects the Trump administration's intensified scrutiny of both legal and illegal immigrants.
Dated February 18, the directive mandates that refugees who entered the U.S. legally must apply for a green card within one year of their arrival. If they fail to do so, ICE is instructed to detain them for case reviews and re-screening.
Refugees are individuals granted asylum in the U.S. after demonstrating they are fleeing persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political beliefs, or social group membership. Historically, the U.S. has welcomed tens of thousands of refugees annually, many of whom undergo extensive vetting processes before arriving. However, the current administration has significantly curtailed the refugee program, allowing only limited exceptions for specific groups.
This new policy specifically targets those already in the U.S. Under existing federal law, refugees must apply for permanent residency within a year. The memo asserts that those who do not comply must return to government custody for further evaluation.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow issued the directive, which emphasizes that refugees can voluntarily return to custody by attending an immigration office interview. Failure to do so will result in ICE being required to locate and detain them.
"The Department of Homeland Security must treat the one-year mark as a mandatory re-vetting point for all refugees who have not adjusted to Lawful Permanent Resident status," the memo states, indicating a strict enforcement approach.
ICE is now empowered to maintain custody of these refugees throughout the inspection process, which aims to assess whether they obtained their status through fraudulent means or if they pose security risks due to potential ties to terrorism or serious criminal backgrounds.
Refugees flagged during this examination may face revocation of their legal status and deportation proceedings. This directive marks a significant departure from previous ICE policies that did not consider failure to secure a green card within a year as grounds for detention.
The Trump administration has taken unprecedented measures to reassess immigration cases of individuals previously granted legal status. In November, officials were directed to review cases of refugees admitted under the Biden administration, potentially reinterviewing them to verify their refugee status.
While the administration's crackdown on illegal immigration has drawn considerable attention, its efforts to tighten legal immigration pathways have been less publicized but equally impactful, often justified by national security concerns.
Following a shooting incident involving two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., allegedly perpetrated by an Afghan national, USCIS halted all legal immigration applications from numerous "high-risk" countries.
Last year, Operation PARRIS was initiated to reevaluate thousands of refugee cases in Minnesota, coinciding with the deployment of federal immigration agents in the area. Reports surfaced of refugees being transported from Minnesota to Texas for questioning before a federal judge intervened.
The administration defends its actions as necessary for national security and public safety. However, immigrant advocates argue that these measures unjustly target individuals who legally sought refuge in the U.S., often based on dubious allegations of security threats or fraud.
"This policy is a transparent effort to detain and potentially deport thousands of people who are legally present in this country," stated Beth Oppenheim, CEO of HIAS, a humanitarian organization aiding refugee resettlement and challenging these detention efforts.
