Minnesota Judge Summons ICE Director Over Order Violations

A federal judge in Minnesota has summoned the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to court, threatening contempt charges for repeated violations of judicial orders amid an intensified immigration enforcement operation in the state.

U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz, the chief federal judge in Minnesota, issued the order on Monday, requiring ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons to appear in person this Friday in St. Paul. The directive stems from Lyons' alleged failure to comply with court mandates protecting the due process rights of detained immigrants, including a specific case involving Juan Hugo Tobay Robles. Robles, who has lived and worked lawfully in the United States, was detained by ICE agents in Minnesota on January 6. On January 14, Schiltz ordered that he receive a bond hearing within seven days or be released. As of January 23, however, Robles remained in custody without such a hearing and has since been transferred multiple times among facilities in Texas.

Schiltz described the non-compliance as part of a broader pattern, noting that ICE officials, including Lyons, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and David Easterwood, the acting...