Blocking the Trump-Vance Administration’s Unlawful Policy Ordering the Arrest and Detention of Lawfully Admitted Refugees

On February 27, 2026, six refugees, Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, and the International Institute of New England, represented by Democracy Forward and the International Refugee Assistance Project, filed a lawsuit challenging a sweeping U.S. Department of Homeland Security “Refugee Detention Policy” that directs the warrantless arrest and mandatory – and potentially indefinite – detention of lawfully admitted refugees who have lived in the United States for at least one year and have not yet adjusted their resident status or do not have a pending application for permanent resident or “green card” status. The policy directs law enforcement to detain refugees, even though the government has no reason to believe that they are subject to deportation or have committed any criminal violation. Plaintiffs also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction and stay, asking the court to stop the policy under the Administrative Procedure Act to prevent irreparable harm to refugees while the case proceeds.

Under federal law, refugees are required to apply for permanent residency (a green card) after at least one year of physical presence in the U.S., but it has never authorized arrest or detention to compel submission of an application. The new policy targets not only those who need time to complete their applications and medical exams, but also up to 100,000 refugees who have pending applications, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has refused to adjudicate them, leaving more than 100,000 in limbo.

Refugee status does not expire after one year, but under this new policy, the Trump-Vance administration now claims that on the 366th day after arrival, refugees who have not yet received their green cards must be arrested and detained indefinitely. By freezing applications and then using the agency’s delay as a basis for detention, the Trump-Vance administration creates a trap in which refugees are penalized for the government’s own failure to act.

Plaintiffs argue that the policy violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, was issued without required notice-and-comment rulemaking, is arbitrary and capricious, and violates both the Fourth Amendment, which protects people, including noncitizens physically present in the U.S., from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the Fifth Amendment, which protects people from deprivation of liberty without due process of law.

The complaint also describes how the policy has already led to arrests and detentions of refugees, separating families and disrupting communities. Plaintiffs warn that without immediate court intervention, lawfully admitted refugees remain at risk of arrest and prolonged detention despite having done nothing wrong.

The filings explain that the statute governing the adjustment of status for refugees does not authorize detention and that the government’s interpretation would upend decades of consistent practice. The lawsuit seeks to vacate the challenged memoranda, halt their enforcement nationwide, and restore longstanding legal protections for refugees.

On March 23, 2026, after DHS chose not to oppose our motion to stay, the District Court granted our motion, acknowledging that plaintiffs face clear harm, noting that the threat of unlawful detention is quintessential irreparable harm. The court further recognized that the policy would disrupt the core missions of the organizational plaintiffs.