Law enforcement agencies carrying out the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown have been described as serial violators of Minnesota court orders.
The statement did not come from the Democratic governor or the Democratic mayor of Minneapolis, who have repeatedly gone toe-to-toe with President Donald Trump. The federal judge with conservative roots has added a powerful voice to a saga that has gripped the nation.
“ICE is not a law per se,” Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz wrote this week of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Schilz was not referring to the tactics of immigration officials who killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, stormed homes with battering rams, smashed windows, pulled people from cars and threw tear gas at angry protesters.
Instead, after polling other judges on the court, Schiltz spoke of the government’s failure to comply with nearly 100 court orders in 74 cases since Jan. 1 in which people arrested during Operation Metro Surge have filed lawsuits seeking release or other relief. Even that number is “almost certainly a vast underestimate,” he said.
“This list should give anyone who cares about the rule of law — regardless of his or her political beliefs — pause. … ICE has every right to challenge this court’s orders, but, like any litigant, ICE must comply with those orders unless they are overturned or vacated,” Hiltz wrote.
It’s another example of judges calling out the government during a surge in immigration enforcement and trying to hold officials accountable. U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez banned police from using tear gas or pepper spray against peaceful protesters in Minnesota, but an appeal has put that on hold.
In November, a federal judge in Chicago imposed similar limits on the use of force and said Border Patrol commanders lied about threats faced by officers. An appeals court halted remedies and the lawsuit was recently dropped as tensions eased.
Hiltz, 65, served as a judge for about 20 years after being nominated by Republican President George W. Bush. He served as a law clerk to the famous conservative jurist U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and is also a practicing attorney and law professor.
“This is not a controversial judge,” said Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis.
“He had a strong belief in the rule of law,” Osler said. “Our social contract includes that when a court orders a government official to do something, there should be a good faith effort to achieve that goal. When we lose that, we lose the government responsibility required of an orderly society.”
On Monday, Shields said he was taking the “extraordinary” step of ordering ICE acting director Todd Lyons to appear in court to explain why he should not be held in contempt for the agency’s failure to comply with the order. The Department of Homeland Security responded by calling him an “activist judge.” Shields canceled the hearing after one of the immigrants in the case was released.
Hiltz admitted to Fox News Digital that he has donated money to the Minnesota Immigration Law Center and the Central Minnesota Legal Aid Center, which provide free counseling to immigrants. He said he believed poor people should have access to legal help.
