Federal agents on Nicollet Avenue in South Minneapolis after Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal agents in the area early Saturday morning, January 24, 2026. | Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images

The chief judge of Minnesota’s federal district court, a George W. Bush appointee who clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia, just issued a remarkable order commanding the head of ICE to appear personally before him to explain why he should not be held in contempt of court.

Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz’s order in Juan T.R. v. Noem seeks to enforce a fairly straightforward decision he handed down earlier this month.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an immigrant man, identified only as “Juan T.R.” in court documents, and sought to detain him under a provision of federal law that calls for detention “in the case of an alien who is an applicant for admission.” But Juan is not applying to be admitted to the United States. According to Schiltz’s original order, Juan arrived in the United States around 1999. So the Trump administration’s legal justification for detaining him is simply inapplicable to this case.

Accordingly, Schiltz ordered ICE to either provide Juan with a bond hearing within seven days, or to immediately release him from detention. That order is dated January 14.

Schiltz’s second order, meanwhile, is dated January 26 — five days after the original seven day deadline expired — and it notes that “Juan has not received a bond hearing and remains detained.” Worse, Schiltz writes that his January 14 order is........

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