Judge threatens contempt for ICE leader, orders him to appear in court
A Minnesota judge has summoned acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons to appear in court on Friday to explain why he should not be held in...
By Fox News · Fox News
A Minnesota judge has summoned acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons to appear in court on Friday to explain why he should not be held in contempt for allegedly violating a previous order. A habeas petition on behalf of a detainee, identified in the order as Juan T.R., was granted on Jan. 14, 2026. The judge ordered the respondents to hold a bond hearing for T.R. within seven days, warning that if no hearing was held within that timeframe, the detainee was to be "immediately released." The new order, which is dated Jan. 26, states that on Jan. 23 T.R.'s counsel notified the court that a hearing had not been held and that he remained in custody. The new order, which was issued on Monday, calls on Lyons to appear in court on Friday at 1:00 p.m. local time "to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for violating the Court’s January 14, 2026, order." However, Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said the court would call off the hearing if ICE released T.R. ahead of Friday afternoon. FORMER ICE AGENT CALLS POLICE NON-COOPERATION 'FORMULA FOR DISASTER' AFTER SECOND MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING DEATH "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 wrote. "The Court’s patience is at an end. Accordingly, the Court will order Todd Lyons, the Acting Director of ICE, to appear personally before the Court and show cause why he should not be held in contempt of Court." Schiltz claimed that the respondents — DHS Secretary Kristi Noem , Lyons, DHS and acting director of ICE's St. Paul office, David Easterwood — have said that they have assured the Court that they understand their obligation to comply with Court orders. However, the judge added that despite the assurances, violations have continued. In the order, Schiltz acknow…