Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz has warned of criminal contempt proceedings against the Trump administration for repeated violations of court orders in immigration cases. The judge expressed frustration over the government's failure to comply with directives related to ICE detentions following Operation Metro Surge. This comes amid overwhelming caseloads for federal attorneys handling the fallout.
In a sharply worded six-page order issued on Thursday, Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, a George W. Bush appointee, criticized the Department of Justice and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for ignoring hundreds of court mandates. The violations stem from immigration enforcement actions under Operation Metro Surge, where the administration deployed 3,000 ICE agents to Minnesota without adequate preparations for the resulting legal challenges.
Schiltz highlighted 210 instances where ICE failed to provide bond hearings or release detainees as ordered by the court. He noted the judges in the district have shown 'extraordinary patience' toward government attorneys facing 'impossible' workloads, exacerbated by mass resignations, including that of attorney Ana Voss. During one hearing, an attorney admitted to lacking sufficient training for the influx of habeas corpus petitions and remarked that 'this job sucks.'
The judge faulted U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen and his DOJ superiors for placing attorneys in this untenable position. 'What those attorneys 'didn't deserve' was the Administration sending 3000 ICE agents to Minnesota to detain people without making any provision for handling the hundreds of lawsuits that were sure to follow,' Schiltz wrote.
Schiltz declared that civil contempt measures have proven insufficient and opened the possibility of criminal contempt to enforce compliance. 'The Court is not aware of another occasion in the history of the United States in which a federal court has had to threaten contempt—again and again and again—to force the United States government to comply with court orders,' he stated. 'This Court will continue to do whatever is required to protect the rule of law, including, if necessary, moving to the use of criminal contempt. One way or another, ICE will comply with this Court's orders.'
A similar rebuke occurred the same day in New Jersey, where a federal judge criticized the U.S. Attorney's Office, previously led by Alina Habba, for 'objectively appalling' repeated breaches in mandatory detention cases.
