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Feds have violated judges' orders

Immigration case review finds 52 instances in NJ

By: Hannan Adely
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... The Trump administration has violated court orders in federal immigration cases in New Jersey more than 50 times since December [2025] - missing deadlines, improperly transferring detainees, and in one case deporting a person to Peru despite an injunction - according to a court-order review of cases.
..... Judge Michael E. Farbiarz, of the U.S. District Court for the Distinct of New Jersey, directed the U.S. Attorney;s Office to detail violations of judicial orders between December 5 [2025 and February 12 [2026] - after finding that one of his own orders was not followed.
..... The U.S. Attorney's Office reviewed 547 cases in which individuals detained by the government challenged the legality of their confinement. The sworn declaration to the court, field last week, [02/11/2026] cites 52 violations and four possible violations described as "unintentional."
..... In a February 17 [2026] response, Farbiarz wrote that the filing was "careful" and "thorough" and"plainly the product of a great deal of work." "He stressed that the treatment of judicial orders "fails below the relevant standards" and that the "sworn material show that this case is not fully an outlier."
..... "Judicial orders should never be violated," the judge wrote. "And they very rarely are, especially not by federal officials."
..... In 17 cases, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement transferred detainees after a no-transfer order was issued. In three cases, detainees were released after court-ordered deadlines. and in one case, a person was deported to Peru despite a judicial order.
..... Most transferred detainees were later returned to New Jersey, says the 11-page sworn declaration from Jordan Fox, chief of staff to the U.S. deputy attorney general. In the deportation case, she wrote, the peons chose to stay in Peru.
..... Fox and the violations were due to "logostcal delays" or "administrative oversight."
..... Government attorneys were also late in filing court documents, missed bond hearing deadlines and failed to provide requested records to the court, the declaration says. In other cases, ICE imposed conditions such as ankle monitors or reporting schedules when the court had not authorized them.
..... Fox also cites challenges coordinating with other federal agencies for records and bond hearings in explaining the violation.
..... "We regret deeply all violations for which our Office is responsible," Fox wrote in an companying letter. "Those violations were unintentional and immediately rectified once we learned of them."
..... The Department of Justice, the parent agency of U.S. Attorney's Offices, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

High volume of cases

..... The declaration was submitted in Kumar v. Soto, a lawsuit field by Baljinder Kumar challenging his removal from New Jersey. Luis Soto, director of the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, and heads of ICE and other federal agencies are named as defendants. Farbiarz found in that case hat federal authorities violated his order when they moved Kurmar out of state.
..... Across the country, Justice Department attorneys say they have been overwhelmed by a surge in cases due to expanded immigration detention. More reports are emerging, at the same time, that federal authorities are failing to comply with judicial orders.
..... In his February 17 [2026] response, Farbiarz noted concerns about a high volume of cases but stressed that "time sensitive matters implicating constitutional liberty are of the highest priority. He ordered the agency to detail steps it will take "to ensure 100 percent compliance" by February 25. [2026]
..... In a court order in Minnesota, chief Justice Patrick Schiltz said ICE had violated court orders nearly 96 times in 74 cases last month. [01/2026] "ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in there entire existence," Schiltz wrote. Justice Department lawyers in Minnesota responded that a sharp rise in cases was "imposing a crushing burden on U.S. Attorney's Offices."
..... Responding for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey, Fox wrote that she understands the concerns "about these extremely important issues with constitutional implications" and will "continue to ensure full compliance with court orders."
..... "We will continue to act with the utmost vigilance to prevent, self-report, and ensure compliance with court orders during this unprecedented period of mitigation filings in one of the hardest hit districts in the country," she wrote.

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