A federal judge in Minnesota ordered the acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director to personally appear in court regarding the agency’s handling of hearings for detainees. Additionally, the court will hold the ICE director in contempt of court if they don’t appear. The move comes after ICE’s intense immigration enforcement sweep of Minnesota.

January 2026 saw ICE conduct large-scale immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, specifically in the city of Minneapolis. In the court order, the judge explained that immigration agents made no provisions to deal with the uptake in habeas petitions and other lawsuits as a result. The judge explained the order, while extraordinary, is necessary as lesser methods of holding the agency accountable have failed.

The order comes just one day after the ICE experienced a change in leadership in its’ operations in Minnesota. The change comes after the second death this month of a person by an immigration enforcement officer. Despite the change in leadership, immigration enforcement operations are still happening across the Twin Cities and it’s unclear if ICE has changed tactics.

The order itself was issued after the court granted an Ecuadoran national a petition for a bond hearing on January 14, 2026. The bond petition stipulated the recipient attend a bond hearing within seven days. The petitioner was still in detention nine days later. This is what prompted the judge to order the acting ICE director to appear in court in person. The court order stands unless ICE releases the petitioner.

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