ICE Chief Ordered to Appear Following Court Order Failures

A federal judge in Minnesota ordered the acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director, Todd Lyons, to appear in a Minneapolis court for the agency’s ongoing violations of court orders tied to immigration enforcement actions.

Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz issued a three-page order, accusing federal immigration authorities of failing to adhere to “dozens of court orders” within recent weeks, including a bond hearing for the case of Juan Tobay Robles, a detained immigrant who was apprehended in Minnesota in early January.

“This court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” Schiltz expressed in the order.

Schiltz wants Lyons to disclose why Robles was not granted a bond hearing or why Robles hasn’t been released from detention, given that the judge’s order required the Trump administration to provide him a hearing within seven days or release him.

“The court’s patience is at an end. The Court acknowledges that ordering the head of a federal agency to personally appear is an extraordinary step, but the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed.”

Schiltz said that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE “have continually assured the Court that they recognize their obligation to comply with Court orders,” as well as affirming that they would take the requirements to fulfill those orders.

“Unfortunately, though, the violations continue,” Schiltz continued.

Schiltz announced that he will hold a hearing on Jan. 30 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 the Court’s January 14, 2026, order.”

The order comes amid increasing pressure from Minnesota state officials for Immigration and other federal authorities to halt the surge in aggressive immigration operations across the state.