US Justice Department wants to discipline federal judge for criticizing ICE operations

The US Department of Justice wants to discipline several judges for their critical statements about immigration authorities' actions against journalists. The Justice Department said Wednesday it is accusing seven Minnesota federal judges of violating their confidentiality obligations. Disciplinary measures have therefore been applied for against them at a federal appeals court.

The background to the allegations is a report in the New York Times from September 17th. Seven judges were cited in it, including Judge Patrick Schiltz, who was chief federal judge of Minnesota at the time of the US immigration authorities' "Metro Surge" operation in Minneapolis.

“Metro Surge” is an operation in Minnesota that the Department of Homeland Security announced on December 4th. The employees of the immigration agency ICE and the border protection agency Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were supposed to track down migrants without a residence permit in the democratically governed state. According to the government, “4,000 foreigners without residence permits” were arrested during the operation.

Renee Good and Alex Pretti shot dead during protests against deportation raids

On the sidelines of protests against the deportation raids, US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were shot in Minneapolis in January. An ICE employee is held responsible for the death of the mother of three Good, and a member of the Border Patrol is responsible for the death of the nurse Pretti.

Judge Schiltz had previously said it was "likely" that ICE "violated more court orders in January than some federal agencies have in their entire existence." In the New York Times article, he then argued that the chaos this caused in Minnesota's federal court system "posed a serious threat to the rule of law."

Such a public statement is rare for sitting judges, emphasized the New York Times. She added that neither Schiltz nor his six colleagues named in the report wanted to discuss ongoing proceedings. However, they agreed to comment on the tensions with the Ministry of Justice and the situation during the “Metro Surge” operation.

Courts have repeatedly ruled against US government measures

The Justice Department has now said that the administration of US President Donald Trump has asked the appeals court to “initiate an investigation” into the statements made by these judges. Justice Minister Todd Blanche accused the judges of violating their ethical principles. The “obviously biased” judges should “retreat from all cases involving the Department of Homeland Security,” he told reporters.

US President Donald Trump has made combating what he sees as excessive immigration one of his top priorities. He speaks of an "invasion" of "foreign criminals" in the United States. Courts have repeatedly ruled against measures taken by the US government as part of its rigid crackdown on immigrants and refugees. The US government accuses the judges of “activism” and “radicality.”