Judge orders ICE director to court

Border czar will take over operations in Minnesota

By: Michael LOria
Joey garrison
and Natalie Neysa Alund
USA today

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota's chief federal judge ordered the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear in court over what he says is the trump administration's repeated failure to grant detained immigrants bond hearings despite judicial orders to do so.
..... The order was filed on January 26, [2026] and directs Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, to appear in court on January 30 [2026] to "show cause why he should not be held in contempt of court."
..... Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiliz said the administration has failed to comply with "dozens" of court orders, including those directing authorities to hold bond hearings for detained immigrants. These violations, Schiltz said, have extended immigrants' detention or led them to be flown to other states where they've released and "told to figure out a way to get home."
..... "The court's patience is at an end," Schiltz wrote, adding: "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."
..... The order comes amid growing backlash after federal immigration agents shot and killed two people in Minneapolis this month, [01/2026] including Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who treated veterans, and Renee Good, a poet and mother of three.
..... Top Minnesota officials said some federal game were to leave Minneapolis starting January 27, [2026] while the White House dispatched border czar Tom Homan to take over immigration enforcement operations in the state.

Bovino's reported exit applauded

..... Across the country, immigration-rights groups celebrated Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino's reported departure from Minneapolis, although it remained unclear exactly what role he would play going forward.
..... "It's a victory, a very small victory," said Alanah Odoms, executive director of ACLU Louisiana, which had opposed the Bovino-led "Catahoula Crunch" enforcement operations in the New Orleans area lat last year. [2025] "Someone had to take the fall for this. The Republican know they've gone too far. It's a victory but it may be a Pyrrhic one because as we all know, a cruelty campaign can continue without that figurehead."
..... Odoms said she credits the people of Minneapolis, along with Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey, for maintaining the pressure necessary to force Trump to act.
..... "Today [01/27/2026] is a good day, and I don't want to understate hat it is Minnesotans who have literally risked life and limb - mothers and fathers and faith leaders - to actually make this happen today," [01/27/2026] Odems said. "This happened because of the sheer resistance of the Minnesota people and the governor and the mayor and the people who put their lives on the line."
..... Bovino, the North Carolina-raised Border Patrol chief, spearheaded the Trump administration;s militarized approach to immigration enforcement, tussing with protesters and throwing chemical irritant into crowds in Chicago, Charlotte and New Orleans.
.... Bovino often defended the approach, even calling his agents the "victims" in the fatal shooting of Pretti on JAnaur 24. [2026]

White House to "recalibrate' ICE

..... Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a close ally of Trump, said the White House "is working on a game plan" to recalibrate ICE amid fallout form the recent shootings and the federal government's reaction to it. "They, being the White House, need to recalibrate on what needs to be done to make sure that respect is going to be reinstalled," Abbott said on the "Mark Davis Show."
..... "That's not an easy task, especially under the current circumstances, but I know that they (the White House) are working on a game plan to make sure that they are going to ... recalibrate and maybe work from a different direction to ensure that they get back what they wanted to do to begin with - and that is to remove people from the country,' he added.

DHS won't retract statements

..... Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin on January 27 [2026] blamed Pretti for the fatal shooting and dodged questions about whether the agency stands by its earlier statement describing the ICU nurse as a "domestic terrorist."
..... In the immediate aftermath of Pretti's death Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other top DHS officials said Pretti brandished a gun and intended to "kill" and "massacre" federal agents. After videos showed he had a phone in his hand and never touched his lawfully obtain firearm, federal officials have stopped repeating those claims but have not retracted them.
..... Asked whether DHS stands by its initial remakes on the shooting in a January 27 [2026] appearance on Fox News, McLaughlin did not answer directly and said, "We'll let the investigation" play out.
..... McLaughlin also seemed to say the blame with Pretti, saying "He was armed, he got into a physical altercation with law enforcement, he was in the course of obstructing a federal law enforcement operation, which is a federal crime."

Democrats call for Noem ouster

..... Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman joined a growing number of Democrats who want Noem to be "immediately fired."
..... "Americans have died," hes aid in a post on X. "She is betraying DHS's core mission and trashing your border security legacy. DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary."
..... Senator Minority Leader chuck Schumer D-New York, has also said that Noem "must be fire," while two thirds of the Democratic Caucus have cosponsored a house impeachment resolution targeting Noem, according to Politico.

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