Boston judge blocks ICE from detaining refugees

What they're saying: "It gives us some relief and a break, really, from this pressure that we've all been feeling, that our clients are going to be arrested and detained indefinitely," said Jeff Thielman, CEO of the International Institute of New England.

• His nonprofit and four refugees filed the lawsuit earlier this month.
• A Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

State of play: Judge Richard Stearns on Monday said Immigration and Customs Enforcement can't enforce the new policy that let agents detain refugees who haven't obtained green cards within their first year here.

• Before this year, refugees were expected to apply for their green card starting at the one-year mark and used to get their applications denied if they submitted them too early, Thielman said.

The fine print: That policy, outlined in December and revealed last month, authorized that refugees "return or be returned to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security for inspection and examination for admission to the United States as an immigrant."

• Attorneys for IINE argued that the new policy conflates "custody" and "detention." Stearns agreed.
• He also wrote that refugees aren't detained when they arrive and thus can't be "returned" to detention.