Judge Finds Trump Administration in Contempt Over Illegal Detainee Transfer

U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud found the Trump administration in civil contempt after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violated a January 20 court order prohibiting the transfer of a Mexican citizen, identified as Fernando T., from Minnesota to El Paso, Texas. Despite the prohibition, ICE moved the detainee on January 22 and released him in Texas on January 25 without his personal belongings.

Because the detainee was left without his property in Texas, his lawyer paid $568.29 for a plane ticket to return him to Minnesota. Judge Tostrud rejected government justifications citing a winter storm and the urgency of a release deadline, ruling that the administration's actions constituted civil contempt.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and two field office directors were held jointly and severally liable for the breach. The government was ordered to reimburse the travel costs by April 1. In court filings, government attorney Jesus Cruz Rodriguez apologized for the situation, noting the agency failed to consult counsel before the release in Texas.