The chief of ICE ordered him to appear in court to explain why detainees were being denied due process

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s top federal judge said the Trump administration failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear before him on Friday to explain why he should not be held in contempt.

In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz said Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, must appear in person in court. Schlitz criticized the administration for its handling of hearings for immigrants it detained.

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“This court has been extremely patient with Defendants, even though Defendants decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any requirement to handle the hundreds of habeas corpus petitions and other lawsuits that were certain to result,” the judge wrote.

The order comes a day after President Donald Trump ordered border czar Tom Homan to take over his administration’s immigration campaign in Minnesota following the second death this month of a person at the hands of an immigration enforcement officer.

Letters were sent Tuesday to ICE and a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson seeking a response.

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“Defendants have consistently asserted to the court that they recognize their obligation to comply with the court’s orders, and that they have taken steps to ensure that those orders are respected in the future,” Schlitz continued in the order. But unfortunately, violations continue.”

The judge said he recognized that ordering the head of the federal agency to appear in person was unusual. “But the extent to which ICE has violated court orders is also extraordinary, and fewer measures have been tried and failed,” Schlitz wrote.

Schlitz’s order lists petitioner by first name and initials: Juan TR. He says the court accepted a petition on January 14 from the person to provide him with a bail hearing within seven days. On January 23, the person’s lawyers told the court that the petitioner remained in detention.

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The order states that Schlitz will cancel Lyons’ appearance if petitioner is released from custody.

Catalini reported from Trenton, New Jersey.