The judge ordered the acting director of ICE to appear in court

In an order issued on January 26, judge Patrick J. Schiltz required acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons to appear in court on January 30 to answer questions related to the incident of Juan Tobay Robles, who was arrested by federal immigration agents in Minnesota earlier this month.

Judge Schiltz wanted Lyons to explain why Tobay Robles could not have a bail hearing or be released within 7 days of the court order requiring President Donald Trump’s administration to conduct a hearing or release him.

According to an order from the judge, on January 14, the court approved Tobay Robles’ request to hold a bail hearing for this person within 7 days. However, as of January 23, lawyers said Tobay Robles was still detained.

“This is one of dozens of court orders that defendants have failed to comply with in recent weeks,” Judge Schiltz wrote.

“The court has run out of patience. The court acknowledges that it is unusual to require the head of a federal agency to appear in person, but the level of violation of ICE’s order is similarly unusual, and milder measures have been applied but have failed,” he noted.

Judge Schiltz emphasized that during the hearing on January 30 in Minneapolis, the acting director of ICE “must appear in person to explain why he should not be found in contempt of court for violating the order issued by the court on January 14”.

The judge said that if the parties submit a notice confirming that Tobay Robles has been released before the hearing, the court will cancel this meeting and not require Mr. Lyons to appear.

The order was issued in the context that President Trump had previously directed “border boss” Tom Homan to take over the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, following the second death this month of an American citizen at the hands of immigration enforcement agents.

The state of Minnesota and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul on January 26 also asked the judge to order a halt to the campaign to strengthen immigration law enforcement conducted by the federal government. The judge said he is giving priority to processing the above judgment but did not specify a specific deadline.