SMRLS Immigration Attorney Featured in Sahan Journal

Lou Her, immigration lead attorney with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS) in St. Paul, spoke to the Sahan Journal recently about Minnesota refugees who have been left in limbo as a result of the Operation PARRIS program. Enhanced screening procedures for those already in the process of establishing permanent residency, has caused upheaval and uncertainty for many legal aid clients and their attorneys.

As many as 5,600 Minnesota refugees have been targeted by the program since January, and many have been required to undergo additional interviews and scrutiny. Some interviews have lasted for hours at a time, and some have been required with less than 24 hours’ notice to appear. In the Twin Cities and St. Cloud, immigration attorneys and organizations have seen refugees still awaiting decisions even after their additional interviews, and some interviews have been cancelled or rescheduled causing more confusion and distress.

Amidst ongoing legal challenges to freeze arrests and detentions under the program, as of late April, those affected were still being served notices to appear for re-vetting, while others await decisions. “We have staff who have been here for over 30 years, and they’ve just never seen anything like this before,” said Her. “We’re hoping that they get rescheduled, because otherwise, we’re hearing that they may just be sending out notices of intent to terminate as a default. So we’re just waiting and monitoring the issue, because everything is developing in real time,” she said. 

Read more of Her’s interview and perspectives from other local immigration attorneys and advocates in “After harrowing revetting interviews, many Minnesota refugees left in limbo.”