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A federal court hearing in Minneapolis on Tuesday laid bare the extraordinary strain that the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement push has placed on federal prosecutors, judges and the court system in Minnesota — and the growing frustration of judges who say their orders are repeatedly ignored.
The hearing before U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell involved five immigrants arrested in Minnesota who challenged their detention under federal habeas law. Blackwell had ordered each of the men released from immigration custody, but said the government repeatedly failed to comply or even provide basic information about their whereabouts.
“A court order is not advisory and it is not conditional,” Blackwell said. “It is not something that any agency can treat as optional while it decides how or whether to comply with the court order.”
‘The system sucks’
The proceeding drew national attention after federal prosecutor Julie Le, visibly overwhelmed, told Blackwell she was prepared to be held in contempt so she could get some sleep.
“What do you want me to do? The system sucks. This job sucks,” Le said, according to a transcript of the hearing. “And I am trying every breath that I have so that I can get you what you need.”
Le, who had volunteered in January to leave her post as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorney to help the U.S. attorney’s office handle a surge of immigration cases tied to the administration’s Operation Metro Surge, said she received no meaningful training or guidance.
“We have no guidance or direction on what we need to do,” Le told the judge. “They just throw you in the well and then here we go.”
A source familiar with the matter said Le was removed from her Justice Department detail following her remarks. The Department of Homeland Security later said Le was a probationary attorney and described her comments as “unprofessional.”
Le told the court she had tried to resign but had not been allowed to leave because no replacement had been found. She said she would remain on assignment until one was identified.
“If they don’t, then by all mean, I’m going to walk out,” she said.
Le also told the judge that she and her family felt personally at risk amid the sweeping enforcement actions.
“I am not White,” she said. “My family is at risk as any other people that might get picked up too.”
Judges cite repeated violations
Blackwell said that in some cases, he was forced to issue multiple orders seeking information about detainees who had already been ordered released.
“Volume — the volume of cases and matters — is not a justification for diluting constitutional rights and it never can be,” he said. “If anything, it ought to be a warning sign.”
The Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE “are not above the law,” Blackwell said.
“What we really want is simply compliance,” he added. “On the other side of this is somebody who should not have been arrested in some instances in the first place who is being hauled in jail or put in shackles for days, if not a week-plus, after they’ve been ordered released.”
Blackwell pressed Le on whether her concerns were being elevated within DHS and DOJ leadership. She said she was sending emails “in big, bold font” to try to get attention.
Lawyers say system is breaking down
Kira Kelly, an attorney representing two of the detained immigrants, described the situation as “unprecedented.”
“Government attorneys don’t have the power to get their clients under control,” Kelly said. “An email with bold font is not going to change the widespread, systemic pattern of disregard for court orders and honestly for basic human rights in this situation.”
The hearing was not an isolated incident.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz, the chief judge in Minnesota, accused ICE of violating 96 court orders across 74 cases.
“ICE is not a law unto itself,” Schiltz wrote. “ICE has every right to challenge the orders of this Court, but … must follow those orders unless and until they are overturned or vacated.”
Hundreds of cases, limited staff
In a recent court filing, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said more than 427 immigration-related habeas cases have been filed in Minnesota alone, forcing his office to divert resources from other priorities.
“The burden of this flood of new lawsuits not only falls on the Government, but also on the District Court,” Rosen wrote, noting that the civil division handling the cases is operating at just 50% staffing.
The clashes in Minnesota have become a focal point of broader legal and political battles over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, which has prompted lawsuits, court rebukes and warnings from judges that enforcement at scale cannot come at the expense of constitutional rights.
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