(Adnkronos) – The federal chief judge of Minnesota has ordered the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), Todd Lyons, to appear in person in court on Friday, threatening contempt of court proceedings for the failure to execute numerous judicial orders. According to the provision filed last night, Judge Patrick Schiltz accused the agency of repeatedly ignoring provisions that required granting bail hearings to migrants detained in the Minneapolis area, stating that “the court’s patience has run out”.
Schiltz acknowledged the “extraordinariness” of the summons of the Ice chief, but noted that “the extent of Ice’s violations of court orders is equally extraordinary, and less severe measures have been attempted unsuccessfully.” The order risks becoming the latest chapter in the clash between the federal judiciary and the Trump administration: the deployment of thousands of agents to Minnesota has indeed caused a wave of appeals from migrants and growing criticism from local judges, also due to transfers of detainees out of state in violation of court decisions.
