ICE detains screened refugees in Minnesota, transfers many to Texas

(MENAFN) In recent days, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained dozens of refugees in Minnesota who had already undergone initial screening and transferred many of them to detention facilities in Texas, according to reports on Tuesday.

Most of those arrested were Somali refugees, including some children, and the actions came shortly after the Trump administration announced last Friday that it would conduct additional background checks on thousands of refugee cases, as stated by reports. The review targets refugees who have arrived in the United States but have not yet secured permanent resident status.

However, the announcement from US Citizenship and Immigration Services did not indicate that refugees would be arrested or sent to immigration detention centers.

An executive director of a Minneapolis human rights advocacy organization said that at least 100 people had been detained, with the majority flown or transported to facilities in Texas.

Those taken into custody had entered the United States through the official Refugee Program, completing extensive vetting abroad and meeting stringent criteria demonstrating they faced persecution. Although refugees are expected to apply for green cards within a year of arrival, delays can occur due to costs and bureaucratic hurdles, and prior to these recent actions they had not faced the threat of arrest or removal.

Last November, the focus of federal scrutiny shifted toward refugees living in Minnesota — a state with a large Somali population that leans Democratic — after reports accused some individuals of improperly claiming millions of dollars in social services funding that was allegedly never provided.

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