From the Star Tribune,
Another wave of departures in Minnesota’s US Attorney’s Office.
The Star Tribune reports,
Another eight lawyers have left or announced their intentions to leave the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation.
So far this year, that means about 14 lawyers have left the office, which was already understaffed to begin with. Among the latest departures,
Among the recent departures is Ana Voss, the civil division chief, who has been the point person handling hundreds of wrongful detention petitions that have flooded the office since ICE agents began their immigration crackdown in December.
Voss recently wrote in a legal brief that she was unable to “effectively triage and review” every judicial order. Voss could not be reached for comment.
That would be the habeas corpus problem. So far in 2026, some 638 habeas petitions have been filed, as of this morning, each seeking the release of one or more illegal aliens held in ICE custody. Those 638 cases have been filed over just 28 “business” days, for an average of 23 per day.
Habeas petitions are considered to be “emergencies,” so compliance by government lawyers must be immediate upon filing. And if you fail to immediately comply? You are facing contempt of court penalties, including personal fines and jail time (up to six months in prison).
You will recall the unhinged tirade last month of chief district court judge Patrick Schiltz (Bush appointee), who threatened Voss personally with contempt of court for the failure of a different federal agency (ICE) to do his bidding on his timeline (Case No. 26-cv-107, Document Nos. 7 and 10). Eventually, ICE complied, as they have done in every single instance of a district court order, in the history of their agency.
From the viewpoint of an assistant U.S. Attorney, then why bother? You have more work than you can possibly handle in a seven-day workweek and are being threatened with prison time for not keeping up.
On the other hand, as the Star Tribune writes,
They have been asked to defend immigration enforcement actions that are growing unpopular with the public.
Is that the test for public service, you must never ask anyone to do something seen as unpopular by a local newspaper? Perhaps, we are better off with attorneys who will defend enforcing the law, rather than those who will only defend what is popular.
Despite the understaffing, prosecutors brought another case against a Minnesota Man yesterday. Jose Morelos-Reyes was charged with a criminal felony count of illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. Morelos has three previous deportations to his name.
That brings to 120 the number of Minnesota Men (including a handful of women) criminally prosecuted in federal district court in Minnesota since Pres. Trump began his second term a year ago.
