Federal court in Minnesota is working overtime to prevent the enforcement of immigration laws.
So far this Sunday morning (January 25), eight new habeas corpus cases have been filed, bringing to 386 the number filed so far in 2026, That represents most (61 percent) of all civil cases filed in the district this year.
The habeas cases seek to gain the release of illegal aliens held by federal authorities. Frequently, judges will rule in favor of the aliens, without first having heard from government lawyers (representing the people).
Case in point is File No. 26-cv-454, captioned as Perez Silva v. Bondi et al. on behalf of “Luis.” The case was filed on Tuesday (January 20). That same day, Judge Eric Tostrud (a Trump appointee) ordered a response from the Department of Justice (DOJ) by Thursday.
By Thursday afternoon, the government had agreed to release Luis. Yesterday (Saturday) morning, Luis reported that he was still in custody. Now we have a hearing scheduled for Monday morning, 9 am, to hold the government lawyers in contempt for not moving fast enough on behalf of Luis.
Luckily for the DOJ lawyers, two other contempt-of-court hearings scheduled for the same time slot Monday morning have been cancelled. It turns out that those illegal aliens had already been released from custody. The day is still young, however, so more contempt hearings may be scheduled as the jailer works overtime to release aliens as fast as they arrive.
Speaking of Judge Tostrud, he’s working overtime this weekend on another high-profile case. After yesterday’s Border Patrol shooting in Minneapolis, the State of Minnesota ran to court (File No. 26-cv-628) to prevent the feds from destroying or altering evidence.
Judge Tostrud immediately ruled in favor of the state, then he ordered that the lawsuit be served on the federal government. I’ve heard of “verdict first, trial later.” This is the first instance I’ve seen of “verdict first, case later.”
Keep in mind that in their 11-page complaint, the state cites zero evidence of any evidence tampering. Keep in mind that it’s the State of Minnesota that been proven to repeatedly alter evidence in criminal cases.
Tostrud has scheduled a hearing for tomorrow afternoon for some reason. Perhaps he’ll even allow the DOJ to respond. Or, at least attend. Or, maybe not.
Also Monday morning, 9 am, district Judge Kate Menendez (Biden appointee) will hold a hearing on the state’s emergency request (filed yesterday) to kick ICE out of the state, altogether. The plaintiffs write,
The need for emergency relief is urgent and undeniable. Plaintiffs ask the Court to
act immediately, and certainly no later than the conclusion of the January 26 hearing, to preserve the status quo by ordering a temporary halt to Operation Metro Surge, requiring Defendants to drastically reduce the number of agents deployed in Minnesota.
“Preserve the status quo”?
You, dear reader, as a mere citizen and taxpayer, are not provided with 24-hour, concierge service from your federal government. But if you were an illegal alien…
The post Lawfare rages, 24/7 appeared first on American Experiment.
