Minnesota’s top federal judge has summoned the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to appear before him on Friday, warning he may be held in contempt for allegedly defying court orders.
Chief US district judge Patrick Schiltz demanded ICE lead Todd Lyons explain himself personally in a three-page order issued Monday evening, declaring that “the court’s patience is at an end”.
The rebuke follows weeks of tilting anger during the so-called “Operation Metro Surge”, the Trump administration’s large-scale, aggressive and now deadly immigration enforcement campaign in Minneapolis-St Paul. The operation has generated numerous emergency lawsuits from immigrants claiming unlawful arrest or detention, with judges consistently ruling in their favor.
Schiltz, appointed by George W Bush, accused the Trump administration of deliberately delaying or ignoring judicial directives across Minnesota’s federal courts. His order came in the case of a man he had ordered released on 15 January who remained in custody as of Monday night.
The judge said the government’s non-compliance had caused “significant hardship” to immigrants, many of whom had lived and worked legally in the United States for years. He described detained individuals being sent to Texas when they should remain in Minnesota, or being released far from home without means to return.
Other Minnesota federal judges have voiced similar concerns. US district judge Michael Davis, a Clinton appointee, accused the administration of attempting to “defy court orders” and “deny noncitizens their due process rights”.
Several judges are now considering broader legal challenges that could significantly restrict federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota or halt Operation Metro Surge entirely. Another federal judge is weighing whether the deployment of 3,000 immigration agents constitutes an unconstitutional occupation, a case that’s gained momentum following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal officers last week.
US district judge Kate Menendez has ordered government lawyers to respond by Wednesday evening to claims the operation was designed to punish the state for its sanctuary policies.
Schiltz also clashed with the administration last week when federal prosecutors sought his help arresting former CNN anchor Don Lemon and others linked to an anti-ICE church protest. After he declined to overturn a magistrate’s denial of arrest warrants, the justice department appealed directly to the eighth circuit court of appeals.
The circuit court rejected the government’s request, prompting Schiltz to write letters criticising the justice department’s approach and highlighting the flood of what he termed “illegal” detention cases overwhelming Minnesota courts.
