Government lawyer yanked from immigration detail in Minnesota after telling judge ‘this job sucks’
WASHINGTON (AP) — A government lawyer told a judge during a hearing stemming from the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement that his job “sucks.” rise in minnesota According to a source familiar with the matter, he was dismissed from his position at the Ministry of Justice.
Julie Le was working on a detail for the Justice Department, but the U.S. attorney in Minnesota was terminated after comments she made in court Tuesday, the person said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a personal matter. Prior to the temporary assignment, he worked for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On Tuesday, St. At a hearing on various immigration cases in St. Paul, Minnesota, Le told U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell that he wanted to have himself arrested for contempt of court, “so I can sleep for a full 24 hours.”
“What do you want me to do? The system sucks. This job sucks. And I’m trying with every breath I take to get you what you need,” Le said, according to a transcript.
Le’s extraordinary remarks reflect the intense pressure on the federal court system since President Donald Trump returned to the White House a year ago promising mass deportations. ICE officials said the surge in Minnesota has become the largest immigration operation ever since early January.
There are many prosecutors Resigned from the US Attorney’s Office It comes amid frustration in Minnesota over an increase in immigration enforcement and the Justice Department’s response to the fatal shooting of two civilians by federal agents. Le was assigned at least 88 cases in less than a month, according to online court records.
Blackwell told Le that the number of cases is no excuse for ignoring court orders. He expressed concern that people arrested in immigration enforcement operations routinely remain in jail for days after judges order their release from custody.
“And I hear concerns about the energy that this causes the Department of Justice to expend, but respectfully, part of that is what you’re doing by not following orders,” he told Judge Le.
Le said he worked as an ICE attorney in immigration court for the Department of Homeland Security before “stupidly” volunteering to work on the detail in Minnesota. Le told the judge he was not properly trained for the task. He said he wanted to resign from the job but couldn’t get a replacement.
“To fix a system, a broken system, I don’t have a magic button to do that. I don’t have the power or the voice to do that,” he said.
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said Le was a probationary attorney.
“This conduct is unprofessional and unbecoming of an ICE attorney who has abdicated his obligation to act with loyalty, dedication and diligence in the interests of the United States Government,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
Le and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Kira Kelley, an attorney who represented two petitioners at the hearing, said the influx of immigration petitions is necessary because “so many people are being detained without any legal basis.”
“And there is no indication here that any new system or bolded emails or any instructions to ICE will fix these,” he added.
