Trump's ICE chief ordered to appear in court

Donald Trump's ICE chief was hit with a shocking order to appear before the chief federal judge in Minnesota by Friday to answer for why he should not be held in contempt over the latest immigration crackdown in the state. Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, demanded ICE Director Todd Lyons defend himself in court over his agency's 'extraordinary' violations of court orders. Schiltz ripped the ICE leader for sending thousands of agents to the state as part of Trump's mass deportation effort without preparing for the legal challenges that 'were sure to result' from the operation. The judge concluded, 'The court’s patience is at an end.'

The legal showdown between Trump's ICE agents and Minnesota comes just days after a border patrol officer shot dead American citizen Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse. Earlier this month, an ICE officer killed anti-ICE protester Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three. Schiltz did offer to avoid forcing Lyons to appear for his court summons if ICE quickly released an illegal immigrant who claims ICE agents wrongly detained him. Juan Hugo Tobay Robles, an Ecuadorean man who illegally entered the US 30 years, has been in ICE custody since January 6th.

Judge Schiltz on January 14th ordered ICE officials to allow the Ecuadorean immigrant to challenge his detainment or release him within a week of the court order. On Monday night, the judge claimed ICE had failed to obey his instructions, claiming Robles had not been given a hearing but remains in custody. 'This is one of dozens of court orders with which respondents have failed to comply in recent weeks,' the judge wrote in his brief ruling. 'The practical consequence of respondents’ failure to comply has almost always been significant hardship to aliens (many of whom have lawfully lived and worked in the United States for years and done absolutely nothing wrong.)'

Judge Schiltz once clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia - a renowned supreme court justice remembered for his firm conservative rulings and opinions. His frustration with the Trump administration's top immigration officials comes as the White House shuffles DHS leadership controlling the ground operation in Minnesota. ICE Director Lyons is a close political ally of White House Border Czar Tom Homan, who was released sent by President Trump to take control of the Minnesota immigration crackdown. Homan assumed command of the ground operation Monday night after Trump reportedly grew dissatisfied with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s response to the shootings involving immigration officers.

Trump held a late-night meeting with Noem and her rumored lover Corey Lewandowski on Monday in the Oval Office. The President grilled Noem over her handling of the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti. By the end of the night, Noem was ordered to shift her focus away from interior immigration enforcement operations and instead concentrate on securing the Southern Border. Homan and his close allies across DHS, including Lyons, are now running the show in Minnesota as Noem's allies, such as Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, depart the state. More than 3,000 federal agents are now operating in and around Minneapolis, with roughly 2,000 of them from ICE. Calls from elected officials, including some Republicans, have grown to reduce or withdraw the surge of agents amid widespread protests.