Judges called ICE operations ‘Orwellian' and 'craven'. What else did they say?
ICE blasted by judges
For the past year, the FOX 9 Investigators have tracked the Trump administration’s immigration operations and the subsequent legal fights playing out in the federal court system.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - For the past year, the FOX 9 Investigators have tracked the Trump administration’s immigration operations and the subsequent legal fights playing out in the federal court system.
ICE blasted in dozens of judicial orders
What we know:
United States District Court judges appointed by Republican and Democrat administrations overwhelmingly sided with immigrants, accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of violating or ignoring hundreds of court orders, and even held the government in civil contempt of court.
The other side:
The Trump Administration has consistently pushed back on "activist judges" and defended its immigration tactics and policies.
Daniel Rosen, the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, defended his office after being ordered to court last week because of the repeated violations.
But numerous attorneys have resigned from his office since the surge began.
Another former DOJ attorney went viral for saying "this job sucks."
Why you should care:
The depleted office was overwhelmed by an unprecedented flood of more than one-thousand habeas filings from immigrants arguing they were wrongfully detained.
The judges consistently protected the constitutional rights of immigrants in the state, including international students here on visas, those who crossed the border without documentation, and well-vetted refugees who have not yet received their green cards.
Here is what the federal judges said in more than two dozen judicial orders reviewed by the FOX 9 Investigators:
‘Orwellian situation’
Key Quote: "This Orwellian situation, in which a lawfully admitted refugee’s personal liberty hangs in the balance, is rooted in (U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services) delay."
Who said it: Judge Susan Nelson—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Barack Obama
Synopsis: Judge Nelson found the government failed to justify the detention of a Somali refugee arrested in an Amazon parking lot where he worked in Shakopee.
Order date: Jan 23, 2026
Result: Immediate order for release citing no lawful basis for an open-ended detention.
ICE ‘failed to plan’ for constitutional rights
Key Quote: "The Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honor those rights."
Who said it: Judge Nancy Brasel—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Donald Trump
Order date: Feb 12, 2026
Synopsis: In response to a human rights complaint about detention conditions and attorney access to detainees inside the Whipple Federal Building, Judge Brasel stated, "it appears that in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees."
Result: Judge Brasel implemented a 72-hour hold on out-of-state transfers and granted federal detainees inside the Whipple building access to attorneys through visits and phone calls. The Trump appointee dismissed the government’s claim–presented with "minimal explanation and even less evidence" — that granting those rights would result in ‘chaos.’
ICE ‘failed’ to file any warrants
Key Quote: "...the Court can scarcely think of a situation requiring more urgency than a 12-year-old allegedly, with health concerns, being arrested unlawfully and whisked away across the country."
Who said it: Judge John Tunheim—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Bill Clinton
Synopsis: Judge Tunheim found ICE violated court orders by failing to immediately release a Venezuelan family of six, including a 12-year-old boy, arrested at gunpoint without a warrant in their St. Paul home. Tunheim stated the government failed to produce a warrant and "failed to file anything."
Order date: Jan 25, 2026
Result: Immediate order for release. Tunheim warned the government "no more delays and failing to follow Court orders."
'ICE is not a law unto itself'
Key quote: "ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence."
Who said it: Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President George W. Bush
Order date: Jan 28, 2026
Synopsis: Frustrated that his release orders for an Ecuadorian immigrant were ignored, the chief judge threatened to make the nation’s top ICE official testify in his courtroom to explain why the agency had violated nearly 100 court orders. Schiltz said, "ICE is not a law unto itself."
Result: The head of ICE was excused from testifying after ICE complied and released the immigrant from custody.
DHS offered ‘no response at all’
Key quote: "The fact that Petitioner has been on release in the community since 2019 shows that immigration officials have not regarded her as someone who is subject to mandatory detention… The willingness of immigration officials to grant Petitioner work authorization is particularly revealing in this regard."
Who said it: Judge Stephen Locher — U.S. Southern District Court of Iowa
Appointed by: President Joe Biden
Synopsis: Judge Locher questioned the "mandatory" detention of a Honduran immigrant with serious health issues and a valid work permit.
Order date: Jan 31, 2026
Result: Immediate order for release after the judge found the government’s complaints about being overwhelmed amounted to "essentially no response at all."
Detention of nursing mother ‘particularly craven’
Key Quote: "There is simply no legal reason for keeping this mother 1,800 miles away from her children…there is something particularly craven about transferring a nursing refugee mother out-of-state."
Who said it: Judge Michael Davis—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Bill Clinton
Order date: Jan 23, 2026
Synopsis: A nursing mom and legal refugee from Burma/Myanmar was arrested in her St. Paul apartment in front of her husband and child. Judge Davis said she took proper and timely steps to adjust her legal immigration status, and it was not her fault the government had failed to move on her application.
Result: Immediate order for release. Judge Davis added that "many families are suffering" due to ICE actions.
ICE violated the Fourth Amendment
Key quote: "To arrest him, (ICE agents) forcibly entered Garrison G’s home without his consent and without a judicial warrant. The arrest violated the Fourth Amendment."
Who said it: Judge Jeffrey Bryan—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Joe Biden
Synopsis: Judge Bryan found armed federal agents used a battering ram to enter the north Minneapolis home of a Liberian immigrant without a warrant and then unlawfully arrested the man in front of his family.
Order date: Jan 15, 2026
Result: Immediate order for release after his return from a Texas detention center.
Federal courts pushed to the ‘breaking point’
Key quote: "The Court finds these allegations disturbing. There has been an undeniable move by the Government in the past month to defy court orders or at least to stretch the legal process to the breaking point in an attempt to deny non-citizens their due process rights."
Who said it: Judge Michael Davis—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Bill Clinton
Order date: Jan 25, 2026
Synopsis: Judge Davis rejected the administration’s efforts to deny a bond hearing in Immigration court for a detainee, concluding the government was attempting to "undermin[e] the regulatory and statutory authority of the immigration courts to coerce perpetual, infinite detention."
Result: Immediate order for release after Davis said he cannot condone the "catch-22" situation in which individuals are detained without warrants, forced to obtain court orders for bond hearings, and then denied due process because of a problem created by the government.
DHS ‘difficult, if not impossible,’ to believe
Key Quote: "It becomes difficult, if not impossible to believe almost anything that (DHS) represents."
Who said it: Judge Sara L. Ellis- U.S. District Court-Northern District of Illinois-Eastern Division
Appointed by: President Barack Obama
Order date: Nov 20, 2025
Synopsis: A class-action lawsuit filed during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago last fall accused federal agents of targeting, detaining and using excessive force on peaceful protesters, media members and clergy. After reviewing video evidence, Judge Ellis disputed the government’s justification, saying DHS "cannot simply create their own narrative of what happened, misrepresenting the evidence to justify their actions."
Result: The case was appealed and ultimately dismissed after immigration agents left the Chicagoland area and moved on to Minneapolis. But it resulted in the release of numerous videos and depositions of federal agents. Judge Ellis found Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol Commander who oversaw operations in both cities, was "outright lying" under oath about agents’ use of force.
Mexican immigrant moved to Texas
Key Quote: "Respondents acknowledge that the Minnesota-to-Texas transfer violated an order…"
Who said it: Judge Eric Tostrud—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Donald Trump
Order date: Feb 23, 2026
Synopsis: The government acknowledged violating Tostrud’s initial habeas order requiring that a Mexican immigrant not be moved out of state to Texas where he was released and then detained again.
Result: A civil contempt finding with Judge Tostrud initially ordering the government to reimburse the man’s $528 airline ticket for his return flight to Minnesota. He later rescinded the fine.
ICE's ‘blackhole’
Key quote: "It is disturbing that an entire family unit can somehow disappear into an ICE blackhole for more than two weeks."
Who said it: Judge Michael Davis—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Bill Clinton
Order date: Feb 16, 2026
Synopsis: Judge Davis said ICE’s lack of transparency about the location of a detained Mexican mother and her two children with health issues was "unresponsive at best and cruel at worst."
Result: Immediate order for release after ICE was chastised for not even mentioning the children’s health issues when it argued for the continued detention of the mother.
ICE violated the Fifth Amendment
Key Quote: "The Court declares that petitioner’s detention is arbitrary and capricious and violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment…"
Who said it: Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President George W. Bush
Order date: Feb 6, 2026
Synopsis: DOJ attorneys admitted "there does not appear to be a good faith legal or factual basis" to oppose the release of a Somali immigrant detained during a routine immigration check-in.
Result: Immediate order for release; the government ordered to pay the immigrant’s legal fees.
‘Unacceptable noncompliance’
Key Quote: "This sort of noncompliance is unacceptable."
Who said it: Judge John Tunheim—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Bill Clinton
Order date: Jan 26, 2026
Synopsis: ICE violated a court order and transferred a Honduran immigrant out of Minnesota.
Result: Immediate order for release.
ICE failed and has nothing to say about it
Key Quote: "The government has now failed to comply with multiple requirements of multiple court orders, and apparently has nothing to say about it."
Who said it: Senior Judge John Gerrard—U.S. District Court of Nebraska
Appointed by: President Barack Obama
Order date: Jan 31, 2026
Synopsis: The government failed to provide a status report in a legal dispute over the denial of a bond hearing in Immigration court.
Result: Immediate order for release after Judge Gerrard concluded "the government’s failure to even respond to the Court is extremely concerning."
Refugees did not illegally cross the border
Key Quote: "They are not committing crimes on our streets, nor did they illegally cross the border. Refugees have a legal right to be in the United States, a right to work, a right to live peacefully—and importantly, a right not to be subjected to the terror of being arrested and detained without warrants or cause in their homes or on their way to religious services or to buy groceries."
Who said it: Judge John Tunheim—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Bill Clinton
Order date: Jan 28, 2026
Synopsis: Judge Tunheim sided with Human Rights groups seeking to end the mass arrest and detention of legal refugees in Minnesota as part of the Trump administration’s Operation PARRIS initiative. Tunheim emphasized that the "refugees impacted by this Order are carefully and thoroughly vetted individuals who have been invited to the United States because of persecution" in their home countries.
Result: The temporary restraining order was granted; detained refugees were ordered released, further arrests halted.
ICE violated the First Amendment
Key Quote: "Under the guise of protecting the public, federal agents have endangered large numbers of peaceful protesters, legal observers, and journalists —as well as the public that relies on them to hold their government accountable. The First Amendment deserves better."
Who said it: Judge Hernan D. Vera—U.S. District Court-Central District of California
Order date: Sept 10, 2025
Synopsis: The Los Angeles Press Club filed a lawsuit accusing DHS of using excessive force by firing projectiles and tear gas at journalists and legal observers during immigration operations in the summer of 2025.
Result: Judge Vera granted a preliminary injunction barring DHS from using such force after concluding it would "undoubtedly chill the media’s efforts…" The Trump Administration is currently appealing that injunction.
A solution in search of a problem
Key Quote: "Mandatory detention, in addition to being practically impossible given the number of refugees awaiting inspection and adjustment, seems clearly to be a solution in search of a problem."
Who said it: Judge John Tunheim—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Bill Clinton
Order date: Feb 9, 2026
Synopsis: The Trump administration sought to dissolve Tunheim’s Temporary Restraining Order that put Operation PARRIS on hold.
Result: The motion was denied. The Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) remained in place as the case was further litigated.
DHS' mandatory-detention ‘scheme is unlawful’
Key Quote: "The Government has now been told nearly 300 times (and counting) that its mandatory-detention scheme is unlawful… Yet as this case illustrates, the Government has not taken ‘no’ for an answer."
Who said it: Judge Laura Provinzino—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Joe Biden
Order date: Dec 9, 2025
Synopsis: The government claimed a Mexican immigrant, who has lived in the country for more than 20 years, was subject to mandatory detention and not eligible for a bond hearing in Immigration Court.
Result: The detainee was granted a bond hearing in Immigration Court and released from ICE custody.
ICE submitted ‘no evidence’
Key Quote: "The Constitution does not permit immigration detention to be used as a punitive or suppressive tool against protected speech."
Who said it: Judge Jerry Blackwell—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Joe Biden
Order date: May 5, 2025
Synopsis: Judge Blackwell found ICE engaged in "viewpoint-based targeting" of a Bangladeshi college student at Minnesota State Mankato that aligned with the publicly stated executive policy of targeting social media users who express support for Palestinian human rights and criticize violence in Gaza.
Result: The student was ordered released on a $7,500 Immigration Court bond after Judge Blackwell found "the Government presented no evidence at the bond hearing" that the student "posed a danger or flight risk, and it has submitted no evidence since then justifying his arrest and continued detention."
Same excuse 'again, and again, and again
Key Quote: "Since the beginning of Operation Metro Surge, the Government has offered that excuse to this Court again, and again, and again (and to other judges in this district again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again) to excuse its oversights and disobedience of court orders in immigration habeas cases."
Who said it: Judge Laura Provinzino—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Joe Biden
Order date: Feb 20, 2026
Synopsis: The government argued it could not comply with all court orders during Operation Metro Surge because of understaffing and oversized case loads. Judge Provinzino dismissed those repeated excuses by saying, "the refrain of ‘understaffing’ and ‘too many cases’ has worn out its welcome, particularly when it comes at the expense of individual rights. This Court would never allow a private attorney or litigant to rely on an ‘I’m too busy’ excuse to justify disobedience of a court order. The Government is no different."
Result: The detained immigrant was immediately released from custody after Judge Provinzino found "the Government offered little defense to avoid contempt." The civil contempt fine of $500/day leveled against a government attorney was rescinded once the man’s identification papers were returned.
ICE offered ‘no argument’
Key Quote: "They develop no argument involving the propriety of the continued detention of a person who has been ordered released by an immigration judge and whose underlying proceedings have been dismissed on the merits by an immigration judge."
Who said it: Judge Jeffrey Bryan—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Joe Biden
Order date: May 21, 2025
Synopsis: A University of Minnesota graduate student who is from Turkey challenged his immigration detention for a prior drunk driving conviction.
Result: The student’s order for release was granted on a $5,000 bond in Immigration Court.
‘No valid reason’ for detention
Key Quote: "The court specifically directed (ICE) to show cause why petitioner’s release pending removal proceedings is prohibited by law or explain otherwise what exceptional circumstances exist that prohibit petitioner’s release… They concede that there are none."
Who said it: Judge William Conley—U.S. District Court-Western District of Wisconsin
Appointed by: President Barack Obama
Order date: Feb 19, 2026
Synopsis: A nursing mother from Honduras argued her detention violated ICE policies.
Result: Detainee ordered to be immediately released and reunited with her child after ICE "conceded no valid reason for her detention exists."
ICE failed to obtain warrants
Key Quote: "Respondents (ICE) do not address their failure to comply with a statutory requirement that they obtain a warrant prior to the arrest."
Who said it: Judge Jeffrey Bryan—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Joe Biden
Order date: Feb 13, 2026
Synopsis: A Venezuelan immigrant challenged his warrantless arrest in a private apartment parking lot where he lived.
Result: Immediate order for release after Judge Bryan concluded the government’s defense "lacks merit."
‘Traumatizing children'
Key Quote: "The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children."
Who said it: Judge Fred Biery—U.S. District Court-Western District of Texas
Appointed by: President Clinton
Order date: Jan 31, 2026
Synopsis: This high-profile asylum case involved an Ecuadorian father and his 5-year-old son who were arrested in Minnesota and detained in Texas. Judge Biery criticized the government for not following proper and legal deportation procedures.
Result: Judge Biery ordered their immediate release and offered a "civics lesson to the government" after ICE tried to use administrative warrants to bypass probable cause requirements.
"That is called the fox guarding the hen house. The constitution requires an independent judicial officer," the judge stated.
Attempting to hide detainees
Key Quote: "… ICE is attempting to hide the location of detainees."
Who said it: Senior Judge Donovan W. Frank—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Bill Clinton
Order date: Jan 28, 2026
Synopsis: Judge Frank raised deep concerns about ICE’s practice of transferring detained immigrants to potentially "make habeas proceedings more difficult for a petitioner and their counsel."
Result: However, in this case, the Ecuadorian immigrant arrested in Minnesota had already been moved to a detention facility in New Mexico when he filed his habeas petition. Judge Frank transferred the man’s case to the District of New Mexico.
ICE has not ‘produced any evidence’
Key Quote: "Respondents offer nothing more than a blanket and contradictory assertion to argue that this Court lacks jurisdiction."
Who said it: Judge Nancy Brasel—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Donald Trump
Order date: Jan 22, 2026
Synopsis: In a jurisdictional dispute over which district court should ultimately rule on the Ecuadorian immigrant’s habeas petition, Judge Brasel took issue with the government’s claims that the man had somehow been booked into ICE custody in Texas the day before his actual arrest in Minnesota. She wrote, "Respondents have not produced any evidence" to justify its claims.
Result: Judge Brasel took jurisdiction of the case and ruled that he is not subject to mandatory detention. She ordered the man’s immediate return to Minnesota, and gave the government seven days to provide him with a bond hearing in Immigration court or else immediately release him from ICE custody.
‘Eyebrow-raising’
Key Quote: "... the government’s claimed concern about the victim/agents’ ‘dignity and privacy’ and the risk of doxxing is eyebrow-raising, to say the least."
Who said it: Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster — District of Minnesota
Order date: Feb 24, 2026
Synopsis: In a criminal case involving the prosecution of a woman for assaulting a Border Patrol Agent during a January encounter near Minneapolis’ Roosevelt High School, the government sought a protective order to shield the public release of any personal identifying information of the immigration enforcement agents involved in the case. Prosecutors also asked the court to prevent the disclosure of the agents’ identities because of "dignity and privacy" issues as well as concerns over potential doxxing.
Result: The magistrate judge specifically singled out a tweet from Attorney General Pam Bondi for initially identifying the woman publicly in violation of a court order that sealed the case. "In publicly posting that information, the government failed to respect (the woman’s) dignity and privacy, exposed her to a risk of doxxing, and generally thumbed its nose at the notion that defendants are innocent until proven guilty."
Ultimately, the magistrate judge ordered both sides not to disclose any sensitive personal information, including phone numbers, email addresses or social media accounts for any party involved in the case.
U.S. Attorney's ‘attack’ on the courts
Key quote: "One way or another, ICE will comply with this Court’s orders.
Who said it: Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President George W. Bush
Order date: Feb 26, 2026
Synopsis: Chief Judge Schiltz threatened criminal contempt charges against Trump administration officials after the number of court violations surpassed 200. "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," wrote Schiltz.
Result: Schiltz detailed a private email he received from U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen challenging claims that the government had violated dozens of prior district court orders. Schiltz called Rosen’s email an "attack" on the court. "The judges of this District have 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," wrote the Republican appointee. "What those attorneys ‘didn’t deserve’ was the Administration sending 3000 ICE agents to Minnesota to detain people without making any provision for handling the hundreds of lawsuits that were sure to follow."
'Dystopian nightmare'
Key Quote: "The new policy turns the refugees’ American Dream into a dystopian nightmare."
Who said it: Judge John Tunheim—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Bill Clinton
Order date: Feb 27, 2026
Synopsis: In his 3rd order related to the Trump administration’s Operation PARRIS targeting newly arrived refugees in Minnesota, Judge Tunheim reasoned that the United States had long ago made a "solemn promise" to refugees fleeing persecution of a better tomorrow in this country. "We promised them the hope that one day they could achieve the American Dream."
Result: Tunheim formally issued a preliminary injunction barring the government from arresting and detaining Minnesota’s refugees who are awaiting green cards while transitioning to lawful permanent resident status. "The Government’s actions in this case beg the question: ‘Why?’"
DOJ Attorney: ‘This job sucks’
Key Quote: "It is past time for such noncompliance to end."
Who said it: Judge Jerry Blackwell—U.S. District Court of Minnesota
Appointed by: President Joe Biden
Order date: Feb 2, 2026
Synopsis: Frustrated by multiple violations of his court orders, including the delayed release of a detained immigrant, Judge Blackwell ordered a show cause hearing, demanding a pair of Department of Justice attorneys, including Julie Le, appear in his courtroom the next day to explain why they should not be held in contempt.
Result: At that hearing, in perhaps the most remarkable moment in U.S. District Court during Operation Metro Surge, an emotional Le said candidly "The system sucks. This job sucks." Le told the judge that she wished that he would just hold her in contempt, "so that I can have a full 24 hours of sleep." He did not hold her in contempt, but Le was quickly removed from her assignment with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.