Federal judge threatens top prosecutor with contempt 'again and again and again' for violated court orders

Federal judge threatens jail for prosecutors if they violate orders

The chief federal judge in Minnesota is threatening to put federal prosecutors in jail if they continue to violate court orders. This comes as the number of court cases stemming from ICE's Operation Metro Surge continues piling up. 

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The chief federal judge for Minnesota is threatening to hold federal prosecutors in criminal contempt if they continue to violate court orders following the flood of civil cases stemming from Operation Metro Surge. 

Judge attacks U.S. Attorney's Office  

Big picture view:

The supplemental order filed on Thursday, Feb. 26, shows Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz telling U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen and ICE officials they must comply with court orders or risk criminal contempt charges. 

READ MORE: ICE in Minnesota: Federal judge's contempt ruling highlights Minnesota court frustrations

This comes as the number of court cases stemming from the immigration crackdown continues piling up.  

While Operation Metro Surge may be winding down, the legal fallout is leading to a backlog of civil lawsuits, which the district's chief federal judge said the Department of Justice was "never" prepared for.

READ MORE: Minnesota's top federal prosecutor faces staffing crisis amid legal challenges

Following a flood of prosecutor resignations, the U.S. Attorney's Office is facing a staffing crisis, leading to missed deadlines on top of mounting legal challenges.

In just the last week, the U.S. Attorney's office has been cited twice for civil contempt.  

What they're saying:

The judge took issue with a Feb. 9 email from Rosen, in which the U.S. Attorney accused the judge of overstating ICE's lack of compliance with court orders. But in this most recent court filing, Judge Schiltz says the number of violated court orders has now grown to more than 200. 

READ MORE: ICE violated at least 96 court orders in January

Schiltz's supplemental order refers to events that led to this backlog of violations, saying the court has been "extraordinarily patient with the government attorneys, recognizing that they have been put in an impossible position by Rosen and his superiors in the Department of Justice."

The order also refers to the widespread attorney resignations from the office during Operation Metro Surge. 

"What those attorneys ‘didn’t deserve’ was the Administration sending 3,000 ICE agents to Minnesota to detain people without making any provision for handling the hundreds of lawsuits that were sure to follow."

The order continues by documenting another 113 additional orders that ICE violated in 77 additional cases on top of the 97 previous orders that ICE violated in 66 previous cases. 

Schiltz goes even further in conveying the scale of violations from the U.S. Attorney's Office, saying, "The Court is not aware of another occasion in the history of the United States in which a federal court has had to threaten contempt—again and again and again—to force the United States government to comply with court orders."

What's next:

The chief judge warned that, "One way or another, ICE will comply with this Court’s orders."

Rosen has also been summoned to testify in a separate hearing next week related to issues with ICE not returning property or paperwork to detained immigrants after their release.