Federal Judge Threatens Contempt Charges Over Immigration Enforcement Violations

A Minnesota federal judge issued a sharp warning to prosecutors and immigration officials, threatening criminal contempt charges for repeatedly failing to follow court orders. The judge documented nearly 100 violations of court directives during recent immigration enforcement operations.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A federal judge in Minnesota delivered a forceful ultimatum Thursday to both the state’s top federal prosecutor and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, declaring they must follow court directives or face potential criminal contempt proceedings.

Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz, a conservative jurist nominated by former President George W. Bush, responded sharply to a February 9th email from U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen. In that message, the prosecutor challenged the judge’s characterization of ICE’s failure to comply with judicial orders stemming from recent immigration enforcement actions across Minnesota.

This latest judicial rebuke represents another chapter in ongoing tensions between federal courts in Minnesota and other states versus the current administration’s approach to mass deportation efforts, with judges frequently citing due process violations and inadequate treatment standards.

A separate judge also scheduled a contempt hearing for Tuesday, requiring Rosen, his civil division chief, and ICE representatives to appear over their failure to return detained individuals’ personal belongings as ordered.

Previously, Schiltz had labeled ICE as repeatedly violating court directives related to enforcement activities. In a January 28th ruling, he voiced “grave concerns” after Minnesota federal judges documented 96 order violations across 74 different cases. Thursday’s filing revealed that rather than improving compliance, “the government’s response was not to do a better job complying with court orders, but instead to attack the Court.”

Rosen pushed back against the judge’s assessment, informing Schiltz that his office’s examination of 12 cases from the original 74 showed strong compliance rates. The prosecutor argued the judicial tally “was far beyond the pale of accuracy for an order that would be wielded so publicly and so sharply. The lawyers in my civil division didn’t deserve it.”

In Thursday’s new filing, Schiltz revealed he directed his judicial colleagues and clerks to re-examine the data. Though they found some errors on both sides, their review confirmed ICE violated 97 orders across 66 of the referenced cases.

“Increasingly, this Court has had to resort to using the threat of civil contempt to force ICE to comply with orders,” Schiltz stated. “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.”

The chief judge included documentation of 113 additional violations spanning 77 more cases, most occurring after the initial count.

“The judges of this District have been extraordinarily patient with the government attorneys, recognizing that they have been put in an impossible position by Rosen and his superiors in the Department of Justice,” Schiltz noted, referencing widespread resignations that have depleted Rosen’s staff. “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.”

Neither Rosen nor ICE representatives provided immediate responses to requests for comment.

During Wednesday’s news conference — his first since assuming office in October — Rosen confirmed his prosecutor ranks have been severely reduced. He showed frustration when questioned about at least two criminal cases recently dismissed partly due to staffing shortages. Rosen reported having 64 assistant U.S. attorneys when his predecessor left office, 47 on his first day, and currently just 36. However, he maintained he was recruiting new prosecutors rapidly and insisted his office retained capacity for handling serious crimes.

Schiltz concluded with an unambiguous warning:

“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,” he declared. “One way or another, ICE will comply with this Court’s orders.”