The Conversation: Legal refugees now face long detention after DHS reinterprets law on applying for a green card after a year
The Department of Homeland Security issued a policy memo in February 2026 that could lead to the detention of refugees who are legally in the country. The new policy states that “DHS may arrest and ...
Legal refugees now face long detention after DHS reinterprets law on applying for a green card after a year
A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality or political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most likely, they cannot return home or are afraid to do so.
The definition of a refugee at this time was an individual with either a Nansen passport or a "certificate of identity" issued by the International Refugee Organization. The Constitution of the International Refugee Organization, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 December 1946, specified the agency's field of operations.
Refugees are people forced to flee conflict or persecution and seek safety in another country. UNHCR protects refugees and works to find long-term solutions.
Refugee, any uprooted, homeless, involuntary migrant who has crossed a frontier and no longer possesses the protection of his or her former government. Although there have been waves of refugees throughout history, there was no refugee problem until the emergence of closed state frontiers in the late 19th century.
What is the definition of a refugee under international law? Refugees are people forced to flee their home countries because of persecution, conflict, violence, or other circumstances that place them in need of international protection. Under international law, anyone who meets these criteria is a refugee, although a host country may require asylum seekers to establish a well-founded fear of ...