Federal Judge Cancels Contempt Hearing for ICE Chief After Agency Releases Detainee

A federal judge in Minnesota on Wednesday canceled a scheduled contempt of court hearing for acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons after the agency complied with an order to release an Ecuadorian national. Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz in Minneapolis had ordered Lyons to appear in court at 1 p.m. local time on Friday to answer questions over ICE’s decision to ignore nearly 100 court orders issued during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown. In his order on Wednesday, Schiltz said he had noted in his previous order calling for Lyons to testify that if ICE released Juan T.R., an Ecuadorian man who petitioned the court arguing he was wrongfully detained, the contempt of court hearing would be canceled. Since the agency told the court that Juan had been released, Schiltz said Friday’s hearing would no longer take place....