Trump Immigration Crackdown and Courts

U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura Provinzino held Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Isihara in civil contempt and ordered a $500-per-day fine after the Justice Department failed to comply with her Feb. 9 order to release ICE detainee Rigoberto Soto Jimenez “without imposing any conditions” and to return all his property, including identification; ICE released Soto Jimenez by a Feb. 13 deadline but his ID papers were not returned. Isihara acknowledged the order “fell through the cracks,” blaming an overwhelming Operation Metro Surge caseload and short staffing in the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the judge said fines will accrue daily until the identification is returned.