Judge demands Ice chief to appear in court over handling of migrants

The Chief Federal Judge in Minnesota has demanded the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to appear in court over "repeated failures."

In an unprecedented intervention, District Judge Patrick J Schiltz summoned acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to his courtroom.

The judge threatened possible contempt proceedings against Mr Lyons over several accusations ICE failed to grant detained immigrants bond hearings that had been ordered by judges in Minneapolis.

It is the latest in potential showdown between the federal judiciary and White House officials, who have sought to paint judges who question their tactics as "liberal activists."

In his summons, Judge Schiltz said: "The court’s patience is at an end."

Judge Schiltz, an appointee of President George W. Bush and a former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, said: "The Court acknowledges that ordering the head of a federal agency to personally appear is an extraordinary step.

"But the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed."

Over the weekend, Judge Schiltz penned an exasperated letter to the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, questioning unusual moves by government officials to charge demonstrators involved in a church protest in St. Paul.

President Trump and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz struck a conciliatory note after a private phone call last night, in a sign the two sides want to defuse a crisis over the deportation drive that has left two US citizens dead in Minneapolis.

More to follow...

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