Minnesota judge orders ICE chief to face contempt over ignored court orders

ICE head faces contempt over court violations

The chief federal judge in Minnesota on Monday directed the acting head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to appear in court and explain why he should not be held in contempt for failing to provide timely hearings to detained immigrants.

In his order, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons must appear personally before the court.

The judge criticised the Trump administration for deploying thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain immigrants without making arrangements for the hundreds of habeas petitions and related lawsuits that followed.

“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents,” Schiltz wrote, “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.”

The order comes in the wake of two fatal shootings by federal officers in Minneapolis in recent weeks, which have triggered public outrage.

On Saturday, US Border Patrol officers shot and killed 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti during a federal immigration operation. Less than three weeks earlier, an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good, a mother of three, in the city.

In response, US President Donald Trump has directed border official Tom Homan to oversee immigration operations in Minnesota amid growing protests and criticism of the administration’s approach.

Schiltz acknowledged that ordering the head of a federal agency to appear in person is unusual but said repeated violations of court orders left him with no choice.

“The extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” 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,” Schiltz added. “Unfortunately, though, the violations continue.”