Minnesota’s chief federal judge has demanded the acting head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personally appear in court Friday to explain what the judge described as repeated failures to comply with dozens of court orders amid its enforcement efforts in the state.
U.S. judge orders ICE chief to appear in court, threatens contempt ruling
Chief judge of Minnesota district court says ICE has repeatedly flouted court orders.
The Washington Post, January 27, 2026
The court’s order set up a yet another potential showdown between the federal judiciary and Trump administration officials, who have sought to paint judges who question their tactics as “liberal activists.”
It was not clear Tuesday whether Lyons would comply with the order to appear or whether Justice Department attorneys would seek to block it in court. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Follow
“The Court acknowledges that ordering the head of a federal agency to personally appear is an extraordinary step,” wrote Schiltz, an appointee of President George W. Bush and a former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. “But the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed.”
Since the Trump administration surged thousands of ICE agents to the Minneapolis region this month, the federal courts in the city have been inundated with suits filed by migrants seeking release from immigration detention, even as federal prosecutors have flooded dockets with efforts to charge people protesting ICE’s efforts.
In recent rulings, several judges have expressed frustration over the government’s tactics and posture in court — including this weekend, when Schiltz penned an exasperated letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, questioning unusual moves by government officials to charge demonstrators involved in a church protest in St. Paul.
Other judges on the city’s federal bench have questioned the government’s willingness to comply with its orders — especially in cases involving migrant detainees. In instances Schiltz cited Monday, immigrants who had been granted bond hearings by the courts had seen their detentions extended instead or had been flown to Texas despite orders that ICE keep them in the state.
Schiltz said that the court had been “extremely patient” with the government, “even though [it] 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.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.