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Urgent Action Needed: Denounce Wrongful, Discriminatory Refugee Arrests, Detention, and Attempts to Remove Thousands of Refugees from Our Neighborhoods

Background: On January 9, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) formally announced the launch of Operation “Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening” or “PARRIS.” This followed media reports from November 24, 2025 of a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) memo that ordered a “review and re-interview” of all refugees who entered via the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program under the Biden administration. Operation PARRIS has an “initial focus” on 5,600 resettled refugees in Minnesota who have refugee status and have not yet received their green cards. 

 UPDATE JANUARY 27, 2026: This week, the Senate is considering funding for DHS for the remainder of this fiscal year. There has never been a more important time to speak out in support of measures to rein in DHS’s unaccountable – and increasingly violent – campaign of enforcement, deadly force, and detention. This includes the arrest and detention of already-vetted, recently-arrived refugees in Minnesota, including children, with many transferred out of the state to Texas without any due process or access to legal assistance. Call your Members of Congress TODAY and urge them to do everything in their power to ensure that the final FY26 DHS funding bill:

  • Rescinds or cuts funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CBP’s Border Patrol, pending a full congressional investigation into their use of force, including deadly force, racial profiling, and enforcement operations in locations based on political retribution. At minimum, Congress should refuse to increase their funding and strengthen accountability for abuses by immigration enforcement officers.
  • Ends Operation PARRIS: Prohibit funding used for Operation PARRIS and any other operation carrying out indiscriminate arrests of lawfully present refugees in Minnesota or any other state or city. This should also include prohibiting funding for DHS for family detention, detention of minors, or new contracts for private detention.
  • Prohibits immigration enforcement at “sensitive locations:” Ensure no funding is used to engage in any enforcement action that takes place at, is focused on, or occurs within 1,000 feet of a sensitive location as defined in the Sensitive Locations Act (H.R. 1061/S. 455) (note that this is in line with House Appropriations Committee markup language encouraging sensitivity around such locations).

We want all Americans who came to this country seeking safety to know that we will not stop speaking out and hope to uplift your voices in any way we can.

Click on the right-hand side to input your information to send an email directly to your elected leaders.

For more resources for refugee and refugee-serving communities in response to Operation PARRIS, check out the resources below.

RCUSA Resources:

Lawsuit Challenging Operation PARRIS

Emergency Preparedness & Know Your Rights 

Mental Health Resources for Immigrants & Refugees 

Planning for Travel

Legal Assistance (National) 

Legal Practitioners:

Advocacy Materials:

*For more ways to get involved in Minnesota, please click here.