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A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden threatened that he may issue a ruling to imprison ICE and Department of Justice officials during a particularly fiery courtroom exchange with U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, according to local affiliate Fox 9.
The outlet reported that Minnesota U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ordered Rosen and several ICE and DOJ officials to court for an unusual contempt hearing over alleged “unlawful conduct” by federal officials. The hearing follows the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge” crackdown on illegal immigration and fraud. During the hearing, Bryan said he had “not ruled out the consequence of imprisonment” for federal officials involved in the matter.
Fox 9 reported that while Bryan acknowledged imprisonment would be an unlikely “extraordinary measure,” he made it clear that all options are on the table. Bryan said such an imprisonment would be a “historic low point” for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The hearing took place amid a spike in Minnesota federal judges charging the federal government with contempt of court orders. Last week, Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schlitz issued a sharp rebuke of the U.S. attorney’s office for its alleged noncompliance, saying, “This Court will continue to do whatever is required to protect the rule of law, including, if necessary, moving to the use of criminal contempt. One way or another, ICE will comply with this Court’s orders.”
Bryan called in Rosen and several ICE officials in an order in which he alleged that the federal government had not complied with multiple court orders requiring it to return cash, phones, passports, and identity documents belonging to 28 individuals “unlawfully detained” and then released by the agency.
The hearing was tense, with Bryan himself admitting that he and Rosen had “been a little testy and frosty with each other,” according to The Associated Press.
In another exchange reported on by Fox 9 journalist Paul Blume, Bryan lashed out at ICE Deputy Field Office Director Tauria Rich’s use of the term alien to refer to immigrants, emphasizing they are discussing “people… not space aliens.”
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At another point, Rosen told Bryan, “Your honor has made a remark smearing myself,” according to AP.
Rosen said of the 28 individuals accusing the agency of improperly holding their personal belongings, only five cases are still outstanding. He said the government would compensate immigrants in cases in which property was lost, which he said, “fall into the realm of human error.” Rosen also said the federal government believes property was returned in all the other cases.
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Rosen said there “was no defiance, no disobedience” on the part of the government and that “the government believes contempt is far beyond anything that ought to be considered here today.”
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Bryan did not issue a ruling on Tuesday, nor did he give a timeline for a decision.
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