Patrick Schiltz, Minnesota’s chief federal judge, on Monday ordered Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to appear personally before the court Friday, acknowledging that the order marked an “extraordinary step.”
The order stems from the case of a man who has been in immigration detention since he was arrested earlier this month. Schiltz noted that on Jan. 14 the court told the Trump administration to provide the man with a bond hearing within seven days, noting that if they didn’t meet that deadline, the man would have to be immediately released. The judge said the administration did neither of those things and the man remains in custody as of Monday evening.
“This is one of dozens of court orders with which respondents have failed to
comply in recent weeks,” Schiltz wrote in his brief order.
The judge noted that the court has been “extremely patient” with the administration, even though it launched its immigration enforcement operation in the state without making any provisions for the hundreds of lawsuits that would inevitably arise as a result.
