MINNEAPOLIS (CN) - A federal judge kept the Trump administration's targeting of thousands of refugees in Minnesota on hold Monday, calling the operation a "solution in search of a problem" that doesn't exist.

In his 20-page ruling, U.S. District Judge John Tunheim dismissed the Trump administration's attempts to bend existing statute to fit its recent enforcement activity, and ruled the potential harm of warrantless arrests and detention of refugees still awaiting adjudication far exceeds the necessary burden to continue the halt.

"Mandatory detention, in addition to being practically impossible given the number of refugees awaiting inspection and adjustment, seems clearly to be a solution in search of a problem," Tunheim, a Bill Clinton appointee, wrote. "The swift reinterpretation of long held and consistently understood applications of the law raises serious constitutional questions."

The dispute arises from "Operation PARRIS"- a U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services initiative designed to target and "reexamine" the legal status of 5,600 refugees in Minnesota who have not yet transitioned to permanent residency.

Tunheim's ruling follows a hearing last week where he signaled skepticism regarding the government's claim that a congressional mandate authorizes the detention of lawfully admitted refugees.

The mandate states refugees who have been physically present in the United States for at least one year and not yet acquired permanent resident status shall "return or be returned" to the custody of DHS for inspection and examination for admission to the U.S. as an immigrant.

Tunheim remained firm in his stance on Monday that the word "custody" in the related statute - the core of the federal government's defense - does not mandate detention.

Instead, Tunheim found the phrase "return to custody" is limited to a simple, narrow purpose of conducting inspection along a refugees' pathway to obtain citizenship - pointing to a previous Supreme Court ruling that found nearly identical language does not authorize detention.

"Because refugees were not detained when they arrived, it is impossible for them to 'return' to detention," Tunheim said.

Tunheim found mandating detention based on the custody phrasing would lead to an illogical result. Because the relevant statute makes refugees ineligible for adjustment until one year after entry, Tunheim said the government's interpretation would subject every refugee to detention unless inspection was conducted precisely at the one-year mark.

"That outcome is nonsensical, and would cause many unadjusted refugees to celebrate their one-year anniversary in this country in a jail cell," Tunheim wrote in his initial granting of the restraining order on Jan. 28.

The judge pointed to numerous statutes and guidelines over the past 45 years - including a 2010 ICE policy - as clear examples of the federal government carrying out the statute differently than the Trump administration claims it should be.

"Accepting that assertion would require the court to conclude that the executive branch has been violating 1159(a)'s purported detention mandate since the Refugee Act of 1980 was passed because it has failed to arrest and detain adjusted refugees for the past 45 years," Tunheim said. "The court declines to do so."

Since the relevant statute has no time limits on when required inspection and examination must occur, Tunheim said the government's interpretation would allow Homeland Security the right to detain refugees indefinitely, which he said is entirely unconstitutional.

During last week's hearing, an attorney for the Advocates of Human Rights - which filed the initial class action - said refugees who are showing up to Homeland Security to adhere to the policy, and obtain resident status, are being immediately detained and put in handcuffs.

Tunheim also rejected the Trump administration's arguments under another statute that permits detention of "applicants for admission" into the county, finding that because refugees are already admitted when they enter the U.S., they cannot be later considered applicants.

Tunheim ordered the Trump administration to report on the return and release of refugees already detained under the now halted policy by Wednesday. Days after the initial order, Tunheim issued a demand for federal agencies to comply, as reports signaled they had yet to release certain class members.

Source: Courthouse News Service