'No explanation': Trump-appointed judge finds ICE in contempt for violating court order

[Timber Rattler]

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/no-explanation-trump-appointed-judge-finds-ice-in-contempt-for-violating-court-order-by-shipping-man-out-of-state-demands-reimbursement-for-airfare-back-home/

A Minnesota federal judge on Monday found the Trump administration in contempt after a Mexican man was unlawfully detained, flown hundreds of miles away from home, and released in a Texas desert city without any way to return home — all in violation of a court order.

The eight-page opinion and order offers a permutation of case law native to the second administration of President Donald Trump.

Such cases, which have quickly established precedent, mostly involve district court judges shutting down controversial efforts to reshape how the government classifies immigrants in order to detain them.

(snip)

After the judge issued the earlier order, ICE released the petitioner in El Paso, Texas — nearly 1,500 miles away from his Minnesota home.

He was also released "without his belongings," the judge noted.

"Fernando's counsel paid $568.29 for Fernando's airfare to return to Minnesota," the order reads. "Fernando seeks compensatory sanctions—namely, compensation for Fernando's airfare and attorneys' fees."

As it turned out, ICE was supposed to have brought Torres back to the Land of 10,000 Lakes before he was released — and previously violated a court order by moving him to the Lone Star State.

(snip)

"On January 23, I issued an Order requiring Respondents to identify Fernando's location and the schedule for his return to the District of Minnesota," the latest order continues. "Respondents affirmatively 'confirmed[ed] ICE informed it has [Fernando] scheduled to be back in Minnesota tomorrow, 24 January 2026.' Despite this assurance, Fernando was released in El Paso."

And, when asked to account for what happened in the case, the Trump administration apparently had little to say for itself, except one footnote in which a DOJ attorney suggested "a major winter storm" in Texas precluded the petitioner being returned back to Minnesota.

Tostrud was not having it.

(snip)

"Accordingly, I find that Respondents' conduct constitutes civil contempt, and Respondents (as defined herein) are jointly and severally liable for compensatory civil contempt sanctions for airfare costs Fernando incurred because of the violation," the order goes on.

In a footnote of his own, Tostrud muses that the DOJ may choose to identify who, exactly, should incur the sanction — should it so desire.

EXCERPT