ICE chief must explain poor handling of detainees:judge
The chief federal judge in Minnesota says the Trump administration failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear earlier to explain why he should not be charged with contempt.
In his order on Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J Schiltz said ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, must appear in court in person. Schlitz tasked the administration with the management of bail hearings for immigrants he detained.
“This Court has been extremely patient with defendants even though they decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision to deal with hundreds of habeas petitions and other cases that were sure to come to fruition,” the judge wrote.
The decision came the day after President Donald Trump directed border czar Tom Homan to take over his administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota following the second death of a person at the hands of an immigration law enforcement officer this month.
Messages were sent Tuesday to ICE and a DHS spokesperson seeking answers.
“Defendants have consistently assured the Court that they recognize their obligation to comply with the Court’s orders and have taken steps to ensure future compliance with those orders,” Schlitz continued in the order.
“Unfortunately, violations continue.”
The judge said he recognized that ordering the head of a federal agency to attend a hearing in person was extraordinary.
“But the extent to which ICE has violated court orders is equally extraordinary, and less severe measures have been tried and failed,” Schlitz said. he wrote.
Schlitz’s order lists the petitioner by first and last initials: Juan TR. It was stated that on January 14, the court accepted the person’s petition to hold a bail hearing within seven days. On January 23, the person’s lawyers told the court that the applicant remained in detention.
The decision states that Schlitz will cancel Lyons’ hearing if the petitioner is released from custody.
