Trump admin releases man after judge's scathing threat of contempt

The man at the center of a case involving a contempt threat from a judge against the Trump administration's Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief was released from custody Tuesday.

Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz found the administration had failed to comply with court orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and ordered Todd Lyons, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to appear before him on Friday to answer questions about Juan Tobay Robles, according to The Associated Press.

Later Tuesday, Juan Tobay Robles was released from ICE custody.

Lawfare senior editor Roger Parloff posted the update on Bluesky:

"The petitioner ("T.R." or Juan Tobay Robles) whose non-release prompted Chief Judge Schilitz to threaten ICE director Todd Lyons with contempt has now been RELEASED, according to what the civil chief of the US Atty's office has told his atty and his atty has relayed to me."

Tobay Robles was represented by attorney Graham Blair Ojala-Barbour of St. Paul, who filed a petition charge on Jan. 8 to challenge his client's detention, NBC News reported. He was taken into ICE custody at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, the agency's St. Paul field office. Schiltz ordered the Trump administration respond to the petition that same day and gave the administration until Jan. 12, demanding "certifying the true cause and proper duration" regarding Tobay Robles’ confinement.

Schiltz had a sharp response to Lyons and his agency.

“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” the judge wrote.