Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested over 100 refugees with no criminal records in Minnesota as part of a fraud investigation, prompting a federal judge to halt the detentions. Families describe traumatic experiences reminiscent of the violence they fled, while advocates call the actions un-American. The Trump administration defends the crackdown as targeting potential fraud in the immigration system.
In Minneapolis, federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently detained the 20-year-old son of a Venezuelan refugee family outside their home. The family, using initials J.J. and A. for safety, presented documents proving their lawful refugee status for themselves and their four children. Despite assurances that the son would only need fingerprint verification and not be held, agents handcuffed him and took him away in a black SUV. "When I saw him being handcuffed, I felt so scared," A. recounted. "They were treating him like a delinquent. And they had guns with their fingers on the trigger."
This incident is part of a broader Trump administration initiative announced on January 9 to review thousands of refugee cases in Minnesota for potential fraud, focusing on recent arrivals without green cards. The administration has cut refugee admissions to historic lows, prioritizing groups like white Afrikaners from South Africa, amid past scandals involving Somali American refugees. Officials claim the effort combats those "seeking to defraud the American people," with Minnesota labeled "ground zero for the war on fraud."
A class-action lawsuit revealed more than 100 refugees without criminal backgrounds were unlawfully arrested and often flown to a Texas detention center. Many were later released without resources or ways to return home; one employer drove to Texas to retrieve a worker. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim ordered their release and a temporary pause on such detentions, ruling they occurred "without warrants or cause." In his order, Tunheim wrote, "At its best, America serves as a haven of individual liberties in a world too often full of tyranny and cruelty. We abandon that ideal when we subject our neighbors to fear and chaos."
Advocates like Jane Graupman of the International Institute of Minnesota emphasized that refugees undergo extensive vetting by the FBI and immigration services. Immigration attorney Luke Srodulski, representing a detained single mother who missed diabetes medication and faced a seven-hour interrogation, accused the Department of Homeland Security of using an obscure statute for cruelty rather than legitimate fraud probes. His client was eventually approved for a green card and released. Community supporter Beth Grosen noted the disruptions, including heartbreak among parents at the woman's daycare job.
The son was held for three days in crowded conditions with shackled ankles, unsure of the reason for his arrest or release. The family links the ordeal to a prior traffic stop where an officer noted his Venezuelan origin. "Minneapolis was beautiful. We expected a peaceful life here," J.J. said. Yet the events evoke the paramilitary kidnappings they escaped in Venezuela, leaving them anxious about retaliation.
