In 'Extraordinary' Move, Judge Orders ICE Chief Into Court

Minnesota's top federal judge has taken the unusual step of ordering the nation's acting ICE director to appear in his courtroom, reports the Washington Post. In his sharply worded order late Monday, US District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz directed Todd Lyons—acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency—to appear Friday and explain why he should not be held in contempt. The judge said Lyons' agency has repeatedly failed to comply with court orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants, per the AP.

"The court's patience is at an end," wrote Schlitz, who acknowledged that he was taking an "extraordinary" step in ordering the head of a federal agency to appear. "But the extent of ICE's violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed." Schlitz has GOP bona fides: He is an appointee of George W. Bush and clerked for former Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia. It was not immediately clear if Lyons will appear as ordered or whether the Justice Department will move to block the summons. Homeland Security officials did not immediately comment.

"This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, 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 judge wrote. The judge's frustration "has been boiling for weeks" as the ICE operation deluged courts with emergency lawsuits brought by immigrants who say they were arrested illegally, per Politico. District judges have almost always agreed with them and ordered hearings held. The development comes as the Trump administration seems to have softened its approach in Minnesota amid backlash over the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.