Trump-appointed judge finds ICE in contempt for violating court order by shipping man out of state

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Law & Crime

Feb 24th, 2026, 3:27 pm


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.

In the present case, petitioner Fernando Torres won habeas corpus release in late January by convincing U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud, a first-term Trump appointee, that he had been "misclassified" by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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"This raises an issue of statutory interpretation that courts in this District have repeatedly considered and rejected, and it will be rejected here as well," Tostrud wrote in his earlier order. "Respondents shall release Petitioner from custody as soon as practicable."

Read more: 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/

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Full headline: '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

Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.230554/gov.uscourts.mnd.230554.23.0.pdf

Another contempt! They're finally happening.

[EuterpeThelo]

1. About time, for sure, but

WHO exactly is being held in contempt? From the article:

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.

"We do not know which of the Respondents was directly responsible for the January 20, 2026 Order's violation," the footnote reads. "If Respondents wish to obtain an amended order that identifies which specific person or entity is directly responsible, Respondents should file a motion identifying the responsible Respondent and requesting this Order's amendment."

Forgive me if, while happy contempt charges are finally starting to happen, I'm skeptical that having to reimburse this poor man's travel and attorney fees will act as much of a deterrent. There needs to be actual PUNISHMENT in these cases where they blatantly defy court orders, and it needs to happen to more than just the foot soldiers who carry out the orders from above them.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Baby steps that is part of an "escalation of punishment" script that is routine among the judiciary.

[travelingthrulife]

2. Yet no one is arrested.

[bluestarone]

5. Hell, not arrested, BUT

Not called in to face contempt charges. WHY NOT?

[BumRushDaShow]

6. Sounds almost like what we've recently seen with other erronious legal stuff - "AI-hallucinated" legal submissions

Made-up slop cases citing fictional legal decisions and scenarios and whatnot.

I wouldn't be surprised if that is what happened here and someone might try to "blame the AI"!

[republianmushroom]

4. Now judge, what the hell are YOU going to do about it ?

Who in hell is going to jail ? They told you to shove it by their actions. Now the ball is in your court. What are you going to do ?