Federal judge finds DOJ lawyer in contempt amid swell of immigration cases

Attempts by the federal judiciary in Minnesota to force prosecutors to comply with court orders in immigration cases sharply escalated on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino found Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Isihara in civil contempt of court, ruling the government did not return identification documents for an immigrant previously ordered released in Minnesota with his property.

Provinzino imposed a $500 fine on Isihara for each day the documentation is not returned, starting Friday, Feb. 20.

The judge issued her ruling following a hearing to discuss the U.S. government’s violations tied to her order for the release of immigrant Rigoberto Soto Jimenez.

Isihara is one of two military lawyers assigned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to work on immigration cases filed in Minnesota.

Minnesota’s federal judges have called for similar hearings in the past month to question the government over failures to comply with court orders in illegal immigration case filings. Minnesota’s chief federal judge previously said he’s identified nearly 100 violations by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) in a scorching order filed in late January.

In response for a request for comment from the Minnesota Star Tribune, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen called Provinzino’s order a “lawless abuse of judicial power.”

The staffing crunch has forced the department to send in attorneys from other states, including military lawyers like Isihara, to help with cases.

The strain of cases felt by prosecutors was voiced this month during a rare outburst in open court by a Justice Department attorney who said the job “sucks” and asked the judge to hold her in contempt and jail her so she could get some sleep.

In court, Isihara acknowledged that Soto Jimenez’s case “slipped through the cracks.” Court records show that Isihara has been assigned to more than 100 habeas cases in the month he’s been in Minnesota.

According to court records, Soto Jimenez is a Mexican citizen who has lived in Big Lake, Minn., since 2018 with his spouse, who is a legal resident. Federal agents arrested him on Jan. 14 at his job.

Provinzino had granted Soto Jimenez’s petition challenging his detention and ordered his release by Feb. 13. Four days later, Erin Lins, Soto Jimenez’s lawyer, wrote to the judge that ICE had instead released him from a facility in El Paso, Texas, with no way to return to Minnesota.