Minnesota’s Top Federal Judge Orders ICE Leader to Court Amid Alleged Noncompliance with Court Orders

A federal judge in Minnesota has ordered the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to appear in court due to the agency’s repeated disregard for numerous court directives in the state.

“The Court’s patience is at an end,” declared Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz in a three-page order, insisting that acting ICE Director Todd Lyons appear in his Minneapolis courtroom this Friday. Judge Schiltz expressed his frustration, demanding that Lyons not only show up in person but also justify why he should not be held in contempt of court.

Operation Metro Surge, launched by the Trump administration last month, aimed to arrest “the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens” in Minnesota. As a result, ICE has maintained a strong presence in cities like Minneapolis. However, local residents claim that the agency operates unlawfully, engaging in activities such as racial profiling, unwarranted arrests, and denying people due process.

Several urgent lawsuits have been filed against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), one of which prompted Judge Schiltz’s response. A detainee named Juan Robles filed for a writ of habeas corpus on January 8 to assess the legality of his detention. On January 14, Judge Schiltz ordered that Robles be given a bond hearing within a week or be released.

According to Judge Schiltz, neither of these actions occurred for Robles.

“This is one of dozens of court orders that respondents have ignored in recent weeks,” wrote Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee. “The practical outcome of this noncompliance has often resulted in significant hardships for aliens—many of whom have lawfully resided and worked in the U.S. for years without wrongdoing. As a result, detainees face prolonged detention, are unjustly relocated out of Minnesota, or are released in distant locations like Texas with no clear means to return home.”

Schiltz then chastised the administration overall, suggesting poor planning has led to the legal chaos surrounding the operation, which has been amplified to international attention after two protesters — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were shot and killed by ICE agents despite posing no apparent threat, based on videos of the incidents.

“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” he wrote. “Respondents have continually assured the Court that they recognize their obligation to comply with Court orders, and that they have taken steps to ensure that those orders will be honored going forward. Unfortunately, though, the violations continue.”

Schiltz acknowledged that commanding the head of a federal agency to personally appear before him is an “extraordinary” step, “but the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed.”

On Monday, a different federal judge in Minnesota considered whether the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is an unconstitutional attempt at bullying state and local officials into acquiescing with President Donald Trump’s policy preferences. Responding to the state’s lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order immediately blocking Operation Metro Surge, U.S. District Judge Katherine M. Menendez appeared skeptical both of the federal government’s reason for sending thousands of federal troops into the city and her own authority to curb the campaign.

The deaths of Good and Pretti have been followed by calls for ICE to leave the state and, in some cases, to be abolished altogether.