Judge threatens to hold acting ICE director in contempt for flouting court orders

A federal judge in Minnesota has threatened to hold the acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director in contempt of court for repeatedly disregarding orders in immigration cases. The judge ordered the ICE Director to appear in court to explain the agency’s actions in the case of a detained immigrant.

Judge Orders ICE Director to Court

Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz ordered acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to appear in court this Friday to address the case of Juan Tobay Robles, who was arrested by federal immigration agents in Minnesota earlier this month.

Schiltz wants Lyons to explain why Tobay Robles was not granted a bond hearing or released from detention within seven days of a judge’s order requiring either a hearing or his release. The judge stated this is one of many court orders ICE has failed to comply with in recent weeks.

“The Court’s patience is at an end,” Schiltz wrote in his order. He acknowledged that ordering the head of a federal agency to appear personally is an extraordinary step, but justified it by the extent of ICE’s violations of court orders and the failure of lesser measures.

A hearing is scheduled for Friday at 1:00 p.m. in Minneapolis, where Lyons “must appear in person to show cause why he should not be held in contempt” for violating a January 14, 2026, order. The court said it will cancel the hearing and waive Lyons’ appearance if Tobay Robles is released from custody before the hearing.

Tobay Robles’ attorney, Graham Blair Ojala-Barbour, filed a petition on Jan. 8 challenging his client’s detention. Tobay Robles is being held at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, a site of the agency’s St. Paul field office. Schiltz ordered the Trump administration to respond to the petition by Jan. 12, explaining the reason and duration of Tobay Robles’ confinement.

Court documents indicate Tobay Robles entered the U.S. illegally as a child. He is a citizen of Ecuador and entered the country “without inspection as a minor, in or around 1999,” according to filings. The case is one of several recent challenges to the detention of individuals who have been living in the U.S. unlawfully.

On Jan. 14, the judge determined that Tobay Robles was not subject to mandatory detention under U.S. law and could not be denied release. A bond hearing was ordered within seven days, and immediate release from detention was mandated. Ojala-Barbour notified the court on Jan. 23 that his client remained detained and no bond hearing had taken place.

Schiltz stated that the Trump administration’s failure to comply with court orders 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).” The court has been “extremely patient” with the administration, which has sent thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain undocumented immigrants without adequately preparing for the resulting legal challenges.

President Donald Trump and top administration officials have faced criticism and protests over immigration operations in Minnesota. The administration has been surging federal agents to the region since December — around the same time that conservative influencers resurfaced years-old allegations of day care fraud involving Somali immigrants.

Trump on Monday announced he was dispatching White House border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a border patrol agent on Saturday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Homan will be “managing ICE Operations on the ground in Minnesota to continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”