On February 18, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memorandum from the directors of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that was filed in a district court case. The memo states that “DHS may arrest and detain a refugee who has lived in the United States for at least one year and has not yet acquired LPR [lawful permanent resident] status.” The memo further states that DHS is required “to take the affirmative actions of locating, arresting, and taking” into custody refugees who have not yet submitted an adjustment of status application and have not appeared at scheduled interviews or appointments within one year.
The memo states that DHS “must treat the one-year mark as a mandatory re-vetting point for all refugees who have not adjusted to LPR status.” The one-year inspection “is not discretionary; it is a required step to determine whether the refugee may remain in the United States as an LPR, should have status terminated, or should be placed into removal proceedings.”
Reaction. Calling the new policy “unlawful” and “based on a contorted reading of immigration law,” the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) said, “The DHS policy of detaining and arresting refugees is a dramatic break with past practices that could impact thousands of refugees who have not yet obtained green cards.” IRAP said the one-year inspection interview “includes not only asking questions to determine whether they are admissible as lawful permanent residents (green card holders) but also revisiting their refugee claim, which refugees have already proven to the U.S. government through a lengthy vetting process.”
