SILVER SPRING, Md – HIAS has filed an amicus brief in U.H.A. v. Bondi, a case challenging the federal government’s attempt to detain refugees admitted through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, in order to conduct additional screening after arrival in the United States.
“Minnesota was just the beginning,” said Beth Oppenheim, HIAS CEO. “When we saw hundreds of refugees ripped from their families and homes and sent to prisons in Texas, we knew we needed to take immediate action for our clients and for refugees across the country who are being targeted and subjected to real danger and harm.”
In the brief, HIAS explains that the process of detaining and re-screening refugees is unnecessary, wasteful, and extraordinarily cruel. People admitted through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program have already undergone years of vetting, background checks, interviews, and security screenings before setting ever set foot on American soil. To arrest and detain them again only tears families apart and retraumatizes people who were welcomed by the U.S. government after surviving persecution and violence.
The brief was filed in a moment when resettled refugees have been targeted by the U.S. government with rescreening and mandatory detention.
The broader lawsuit is being brought by International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), and the law firm Berger Montague PC, representing five individual refugee plaintiffs as well as Advocates for Human Rights in Minnesota.
The text of HIAS’ brief can be found here. Information on U.H.A v. Bondi can be found here.
For press inquiries, contact media@hias.org.
