The Donald Trump administration has granted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents broad powers to detain legal refugees who have not yet been granted permanent residence in the US. This is reported by "Middle East Eye", citing a new government memorandum.
The memorandum, which is dated February 18 and filed in federal court, gives ICE broad new powers to detain legal refugees indefinitely for "re-examination".
It states that refugees who entered the US legally must be detained for "inspection and review" one year after they are admitted to the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security has instructed federal immigration officials to arrest anyone who has not yet been granted permanent residency or a green card and interview them in custody after one year.
Currently, U.S. law requires refugees to apply for lawful permanent residency one year after arriving in the country.
The memorandum is a departure from ICE policy under the Obama administration, which stated that failure to obtain a green card by refugees legally admitted to the United States is not "ground" for removal from the country, nor "good cause" for detention.
"The Department of Homeland Security should treat the one-year period as a mandatory re-screening time for all refugees who have not obtained (lawful permanent resident) status, ensuring that either their "return" to custody for screening is scheduled or, if they fail to comply, they will be "returned" to custody through law enforcement action," the memorandum states.
It states that refugees can be stripped of their lawful status and have their documents processed for deportation if they show troubling signs during screening. The processing time for a green card for legal refugees can take eight to 22 months.