Todd Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, speaks during a press conference about “Operation Midway Blitz,” an immigration enforcement campaign, at a hangar in Gary, Indiana, Oct. 30, 2025.
Leah Millis | Reuters
A top Minnesota federal court judge on Wednesday blasted the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for violating nearly 100 court orders in the past month.
“This list should give pause to anyone — no matter his or her political beliefs — who cares about the rule of law,” Minneapolis U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz wrote in a new court filing.
“ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence,” said Schiltz, who earlier this week said he would hold a hearing where acting ICE Director Todd Lyons would have to explain why the judge should not hold him in contempt of court for repeatedly violating judicial orders.
The judge warned that future noncompliance by ICE with federal judicial orders could result in his ordering acting ICE Director Todd Lyons or other government officials to personally appear in court to explain their actions.
“ICE is not a law unto itself,” Schiltz wrote.
“ICE has every right to challenge the orders of this Court, but, like any litigant, ICE must follow those orders unless and until they are overturned or vacated.”
The cases in which Schiltz accused ICE of failing to comply with judicial orders were all so-called “habeas” cases that challenged the legality of a person’s detention.
The judge’s scathing broadside against ICE came as he cancelled the contempt of court proceeding for Lyons, which was scheduled for Friday.
A man protests against the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, during a rally outside the Whipple federal building in Minneapolis against increased immigration enforcement across the city, Jan. 8, 2026.
Tim Evans | Reuters
Lyons had been ordered to appear in the judge’s courtroom that day to explain why federal officials refused to hold a bond hearing for a detained immigrant as Schiltz had ordered, and to explain why ICE had repeatedly violated court orders in Minnesota over immigration enforcement actions.
The immigrant, Juan Hugo Tobay Robles, was released from custody in Texas on Tuesday, a day after Schiltz scheduled the hearing.
Tobay Robles’ lawyer, Graham Ojala-Barbour, said in a court filing, “A supporter of Mr. Tobay Robles drove from Minnesota to Texas and is presently driving him back to Minnesota to reunite with his family and reestablish his interrupted medical care.”
Ojala-Barbour said “a contempt proceeding may still be appropriate,” given the federal government’s violations of a prior order by the judge that a bond hearing be held.
But Schiltz had said Monday that if he were told before Friday’s hearing that Tobay Robles had been released, he would not require Lyons to appear in court.
“As promised, the Court will cancel the hearing, and Lyons will not be required to appear,” the judge wrote on Wednesday.
“If Juan wants to seek monetary sanctions, he may file a properly supported motion to that effect,” Schiltz said.
“That does not end the Court’s concerns, however,” Schiltz also wrote.
“Attached to this order is an appendix that identifies 96 court orders that ICE has violated in 74 cases. The extent of ICE’s noncompliance is almost certainly substantially understated,” the judge said.
“This list is confined to orders issued since January 1, 2026, and the list was hurriedly compiled by extraordinarily busy judges. Undoubtedly, mistakes were made, and orders that should have appeared on this list were omitted.”
When contacted by CNBC, Ojala-Barbour said, “We stipulated with the government that Mr Tobay Robles has been released from custody,” but gave no further comment.
ICE and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota did not immediately respond to requests for comment from CNBC sent by email.
Schiltz, in his order Monday demanding Lyons’ appearance in court, called the order “an extraordinary step.”
Federal agents conduct an immigration enforcement action in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Jan. 27, 2026.
Seth Herald | Reuters
But the judge also said, “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.”
Minneapolis has been flooded with ICE and other federal agents as the Trump administration seeks to round up undocumented immigrants there and elsewhere in the state.
Two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, have been fatally shot this month by federal agents during separate confrontations. Those killings have led to a nationwide backlash over the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
