Minnesota judge orders acting ICE director to appear in court

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN

(CNN) — Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons has been ordered to appear in federal court this Friday to explain why he should not be held in contempt for violating a judge’s order in the case of a man who is challenging his detention.

Judge Patrick Schiltz, the chief district judge in Minnesota, said in a court filing on Monday that the “Court’s patience is at an end,” with the Trump administration, which sent thousands of federal agents to the Minneapolis area for an immigration crackdown.

The order comes as President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration effort has sparked widespread protests in Minneapolis, particularly after federal agents’ fatal shootings of two US citizens.

The judge said Lyons, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and David Easterwood, the acting ICE director in the St. Paul field office, have failed to comply with “dozens of court orders” in recent weeks.

The new court filing was first reported by Politico.

Schiltz pointed to a January 14 order, in which the court said Lyons, Noem and Easterwood must provide Juan Hugo Tobay Robles, who was detained by ICE, with a bond hearing within seven days or release him from custody. On January 23, the court was notified that the man was still in detention and did not receive a bond hearing, according to the filing.

CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, which is an agency under DHS.

Tobay Robles’ attorney Graham Ojala-Barbour told CNN that his client, who was detained in Minnesota on January 6, remains in ICE custody in Texas. He has been transferred to different facilities in the state “a few times.”

“He is suffering in detention and feels he does not have the medical care he needs. We are hopeful that he will be released soon,” Ojala-Barbour said.

In the court filing on Monday, Schiltz wrote: “The practical consequence of respondents’ failure to comply has almost always been significant hardship to aliens (many of whom have lawfully lived and worked in the United States for years and done absolutely nothing wrong).”

Schiltz also recognized in the filing that asking “the head of a federal agency to personally appear is an extraordinary step.”

“(B)ut the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” he added.

But Schiltz, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, said that Lyons could avoid appearing before him at all if the parties tell him ahead of Friday’s hearing that Robles has been released from immigration custody.

The judge also slammed the administration for failing to make “any provision” in preparation for the influx of petitions and lawsuits that were to result from the anti-immigration surge in the state.

Schiltz went on to laud Justice Department attorneys who are arguing on behalf of Lyons, Noem and Easterwood, recognizing that they “have struggled mightily” with inadequate resources to make sure that the three respondents follow the court’s orders.

“The Court expresses its appreciation to attorney Ana Voss and her colleagues, who have struggled mightily to ensure that respondents comply with court orders despite the fact that respondents have failed to provide them with adequate resources,” the judge wrote in a footnote.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Chris Boyette and Devan Cole contributed to this report.