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A federal judge in Minnesota has stepped back from his threat to hold acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons in contempt for allegedly violating court orders.
Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz canceled a hearing that was set for Friday afternoon. The purpose of the hearing was for Lyons to explain the agency’s tactics amid the Trump administration’s illegal immigration crackdown.
The hearing was initially scheduled after ICE failed to comply with an order regarding Juan Hugo Tobay Robles. The agency was required by a Jan. 14 court order to hold a bond hearing for Tobay Robles or release him from detention within seven days. Schiltz said that the agency neither held the hearing nor released Tobay Robles, sparking the threat of contempt.
However, Graham Ojala-Barbour, an attorney for Tobay Robles, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that his client has since been released from detention in Texas.
ECUADORAN MAN RELEASED AFTER FEDERAL JUDGE’S ICE ORDER
Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Todd Lyons attends a press conference in Gary, Ind., on Oct. 30, 2025. (Reuters/Leah Millis)
Schiltz made it clear in an order following Tobay Robles’ release that the court still had concerns about ICE’s actions beyond the case that sparked the now-canceled Friday hearing. He said that ICE had violated 96 orders in 74 cases since Jan. 1, 2026.
FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS DEPORTATION OF 5-YEAR-OLD BOY AND FATHER TAKEN IN MINNESOTA IMMIGRATION OPERATION
A person holds an anti-ICE sign as demonstrators rally during a general strike protesting President Donald Trump’s deployment of immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 23, 2026. (Tim Evans/Reuters)
“That does not end the Court’s concerns, however… The extent of ICE’s noncompliance is almost certainly substantially understated,” Schiltz said. “This list should give pause to anyone — no matter…
