A federal judge in Minnesota issued a stunning three-page order accusing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting director Todd Lyons and federal immigration authorities of ignoring “dozens of court orders” in recent weeks.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz ordered Lyons to appear personally before the Court and show cause why he “should not be held in contempt of Court.”
Schiltz said Lyons must explain why an immigrant detained by ICE in early January was neither granted a bond hearing nor released from detention within seven days, as required by his directive to the Trump administration.
“The Court’s patience is at an end,” Schiltz wrote in his Jan. 26 order.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement on Schiltz’s order, called him “just another activist judge who is clearly more concerned about politics than the safety of the Minnesotans.”
“Does this judge really think Director Lyons should take time out of his day leading ICE to target the worst of the worst criminal illegals including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and terrorists into our country to testify at a hearing for one illegal alien’s removal proceedings?” McLaughlin said.
Lyons’ contempt hearing was scheduled for Friday, Jan. 30. It was canceled after Tobay Robles was released from custody on Jan. 27.
Tobay Robles is an Ecuadorian citizen who entered the U.S. illegally as a child around 1999, according to NBC News. Schiltz said his case was among “numerous” others challenging the detention of “aliens who have been living in the United States unlawfully.”
Though Lyons’ hearing was cancelled, “That does not end the Court’s concerns,” Schiltz said in a Jan. 28 order.
“ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence,” the judge said.