International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)

NEW on the IRAP blog: the impact of the closure of Safe Mobility Offices (SMOs) and the termination of humanitarian pathways to the US on forced migrants in Costa Rica. refugeerights.org/news-resourc...

Congress Nixes Visas for Afghan Partners, Closing Off a Key Path

The failure to authorize more Special Immigrant Visas is a catastrophic betrayal of the allies who supported the U.S mission in Afghanistan and are still at risk from the Taliban.

Congress must not leave them behind.

A huge win for Haitian TPS holders last night:

They were asylum seekers and refugees in Minnesota. Still, ICE detained and flew them to Texas to face deportation | CNN Dozens of asylum seekers, as well as refugees who passed a rigorous, years-long vetting process before being admitted to the United States, have been arrested in Minnesota in recent weeks, immigration...

Refugees and asylum seekers are being arrested in Minnesota and flown to Texas.

“It really is a campaign of terror. It is designed to scare people." - Laurie Ball Cooper, IRAP

A federal judge has ordered ICE to stop illegally detaining refugees in Minnesota. This is a huge, but temporary win for refugee communities — we must ensure this practice ends for good! Call on your elected officials now to speak out against this injustice and oppose any further ICE funding:

Court Orders ICE To Stop Unlawful Arrest and Detention of Refugees | International Refugee Assistance Project

BREAKING: A federal judge just granted a temporary restraining order stopping ICE from arresting refugees in Minnesota and ordering the release of those currently detained. This is a huge win for ICE accountability.

Read more:

refugeerights.org/news-resourc...

ICE is ‘hunting down’ Minnesota refugees with legal status: lawsuit Lawyers ask federal judge to freeze Homeland Security’s Operation PARRIS as Trump administration alleges widespread fraud

“I fled my home country because I was facing government repression,” wrote a plaintiff who was flown to Texas in shackles after he was abruptly arrested at his home earlier this month. “I can't believe it’s happening again here. It’s chilling and I'm scared.”

Article by @alexwoodward.bsky.social

Happening tomorrow! There is still time to register through the link below.

IRAP condemns the Trump administration’s increasingly deadly campaign of terror and impunity against immigrant and non-immigrant Minnesotans alike. The killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration agents are devastating and outrageous, and they underscore the lawlessness of the administration's weaponization of immigration enforcement. It’s tearing our communities apart and making everyone less safe. IRAP will continue to support refugees who are being targeted, and hold the federal government accountable for its abuses of power.

They ‘Had Done Everything Right.’ ICE Detained Them Anyway.

ICYMI: This weekend we sued the Trump administration for its unlawful arrest and detention of refugees.

"The lawsuit said... the government was using the operation to 'trigger a mass termination of refugee status' and to make refugees vulnerable to deportation."

Class action lawsuit filed against federal operation targeting Minnesota’s legal refugees Operation PARRIS is detaining the state’s new refugees for “re-examination” at the same time as the federal crackdown on illegal immigration.

“The Trump administration is intentionally and illegally terrorizing resettled refugees who are not accused of any wrongdoing." -- IRAP Staff Attorney Kimberly Grano in
@startribune.com coverage of our latest lawsuit: www.startribune.com/class-action...

Purple graphic with the following text - Breaking News: Refugees Sue Trump Administration to Stop ICE Terror Campaign. Minnesota Refugees Face Unlawful Arrest, Detention, and Interrogation. Right side of graphic has logos of the International Refugee Assistance Project, The Advocates for Human Rights, Berger Montague, and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law

BREAKING: ICE is going door to door in Minnesota detaining refugees without explanation, probable cause, or due process.

Last night, IRAP, Berger Montague, @chrclla.bsky.social, @advhumanrights.bsky.social sued to stop ICE’s campaign of terror and intimidation.
refugeerights.org/news-resourc...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Resisting on Multiple Fronts: Refugees and Migrants With Disabilities Throughout the First Year of Trump 2.0 . After registering, you will receive a confirm... On the occasion of the first anniversary of the second Trump Administration, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), in collaboration with other disability and refugee serving organizatio...

Join us on Thursday, January 29 at 12pm EST for a virtual event that will shed light on the challenges created for refugees and migrants with disabilities after the first year of the second Trump administration.

Register today:

refugeerights-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

With ICE now targeting resettled refugees in the US, knowing your rights is more important than ever. Legal resources about what to do if you encounter ICE are available in Somali, Tigrinya, Spanish, Arabic, Amharic, Dari, French, Haitian Kreyol, Pashto, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili and Ukrainian.

Purple text graphic with a photo of Sharif Aly, President of IRAP, and the following quote: "We have been horrified to see armed ICE agents arrest and detain refugees with absolutely no claim that they have broken any law. These are dangerous times full of immense challenges, but we will not back down. IRAP will continue to fight every day for the right of every person to live in peace, safety, and dignity."

Today marks one year since the second inauguration of President Trump, a year defined by the dramatic escalation of abusive attacks on immigrants and the rule of law.

Read IRAP's full statement: refugeerights.org/news-resourc...

‼️ URGENT: Tell your elected leaders to demand the termination of Operation PARRIS and full transparency for any refugees arrested, detained, interviewed, or removed.

Take action now:

rcusa.org/urgent-actio...

They arrived as refugees but now are detained in Trump’s Minneapolis crackdown Lawyers and immigrant advocates say dozens of legal migrants who arrived as vetted refugees and have protections from deportation have been detained in Minnesota.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before,” IRAP's Laurie Ball Cooper, VP of US legal programs, told @washingtonpost.com
about the detention of refugees in MN. “It’s very important to see this as an escalation of existing ICE attacks on immigrant and American communities."

Purple graphic with the following text: "Breaking news, IRAP denounces effort to detain and trip already-resettled refugees of legal status." A screenshot of a New York Times headline reads "ICE Arrested Dozens of Refugees in Minnesota and Sent them to Texas, Lawyers say. The The refugees, many of them from Somalia, had passed security screenings before coming to the United States. The Trump administration has vowed to 're-examine thousands of refugee cases.'"

Read IRAP's full statement denouncing the Trump administration’s lawless and inhumane arrest and detention of resettled refugees: refugeerights.org/news-resourc...

Opinion | The Cruelty of Trump’s Crackdown on Afghan Refugees

"Mr. Trump should confirm the legal status of all the Afghan refugees who came to the United States under the resettlement programs and reopen their pathways to permanent lawful residence here."

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/o...

Guantánamo Detention Facility Must Be Closed – A Joint Statement Ahead of the 24th anniversary of Guantánamo's opening, 115 organizations signed this statement led by CVT and the Center for Constitutional Rights reaffirming that it must be closed, without repurposi...

Ahead of the 24th anniversary of Guántanamo's opening, IRAP joined 114 other organizations in a joint statement calling for the facility to be permanently closed.

Read the joint statement:

www.cvt.org/statements/g...

Uplifting Local Voices in Minnesota — The Refugee Advocacy Lab For decades, communities across Minnesota have welcomed immigrants and other newcomers - a place to seek safety, raise their kids, continue their careers, and find a sense of belonging. These communit...

Minnesota communities are committed to welcome regardless of the federal government’s dangerous immigration enforcement actions that have harmed newcomers & long-time Minnesotans alike.
We are proud to join them & @cvt.org to elevate local voices & stories.
www.refugeeadvocacylab.org/resources/up...

To name a few! Check out our annual report here: refugeerights.org/wp-content/u...

Nearly 300,000 people accessed IRAP’s legal information to unlock their rights - often in the very moments they were deciding where to go, how to move, or whether they could safely stay alive.

We secured litigation wins that upheld the rights of thousands of families that would have otherwise remained stranded or been forced back into danger.

We delivered direct legal assistance to 4,884 people.

Four children smiling on the cover of IRAP's 2025 Annual Report titled: "Impact Under Fire: Our Fight for a More Welcoming World"

We are proud to share IRAP’s 2025 Annual Report highlighting what we have achieved together over the past year: refugeerights.org/wp-content/u...

Picture of ICE officers in front of Congress with text: Condemn Trump's Immigration Crackdown

Punishing millions of immigrants because of their nationality is immoral, unlawful, and deeply un-American. We deserve policies rooted in dignity, justice, and evidence—not scapegoating. Tell Congress to repeal this racist immigration ban:
actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...

Laurie Ball Cooper, VP, US Legal Programs: “We condemn the Trump admin’s escalating crackdown on immigrants from Muslim-majority and non-white countries. This expanded ban is not about national security but instead is another shameful attempt to demonize people simply for where they are from."

BREAKING: The Trump admin just expanded the #TravelBan. Read our response: refugeerights.org/news-resourc...

Refugee Council USA, Elected Leaders, and Advocates Condemn Collective Punishment of Refugees and Immigrants

“No one should live in fear that their government will target them because of who they are or where they or their families are from." - IRAP's Laurie Ball Cooper at today's @rcusa.bsky.social press call

Read the full release: