Federal judges in Minnesota have documented at least 96 instances in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers defied court orders in January 2026 alone, according to filings by Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz — a revelation that has intensified scrutiny of the agency’s enforcement tactics as deaths in ICE custody reach their highest pace in two decades.
Judges Threaten Contempt as ICE Ignores Orders
Judge Schiltz found that ICE violated court orders across 74 separate cases in a single month, ranging from failures to return personal property to detained individuals to ignoring release orders. A subsequent hearing saw the chief judge warn both ICE representatives and the head of the U.S. Attorney’s civil division that continued noncompliance could result in criminal contempt charges.
The enforcement blitz, known as Operation Metro Surge, has resulted in approximately 3,000 arrests in the Minneapolis area since its launch. Schools in the metro region shifted to remote learning as immigration arrests disrupted daily life. Judge Jerry W. Blackwell noted that the “overwhelming majority” of cases brought before him involved people who were lawfully present in the United States, including citizens, legal permanent residents, and asylum seekers with pending cases.
Deadliest Year on Record for ICE Detention
The courtroom confrontations come against a backdrop of mounting deaths in ICE custody. In 2025, 31 people died in ICE detention — nearly triple the 11 deaths recorded in 2024, and the highest annual toll since 2004. December 2025 was the single deadliest month on record. More people died in ICE detention last year than in the previous four years combined.
The pace has not slowed. Six people died in ICE custody in January 2026 across facilities in Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and California. Among them was Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban national whose death at a Texas facility was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner. The cause: asphyxia. Witnesses reported that guards handcuffed and held Lunas Campos down while choking him, and that he said he could not breathe before he died. ICE stated that guards were attempting to subdue him during a suicide attempt.
Overcrowding and Medical Care Collapse
The detention population has surged alongside enforcement operations. As of February 7, 2026, ICE held 68,289 people — a 75 percent increase in one year, with a record peak of 73,000 in mid-January. The administration has signaled its intent to expand capacity to more than 100,000 beds. By the end of November 2025, ICE was operating 104 more facilities than at the start of the year, a 91 percent increase.
Roughly 73.6 percent of those detained — more than 50,000 people — have no criminal conviction, according to federal data. The number of people with no criminal record held on any given day has increased by 2,450 percent.
Conditions inside these facilities have deteriorated sharply. Detainees at multiple facilities have reported poor-quality food, extreme temperatures, permanent lighting, and limited access to clean water. In October, ICE halted payments to contractors providing medical care, a freeze that is not expected to be lifted until the end of April. Some medical providers have begun refusing services to detainees as a result.
The American Immigration Council, in a March 2026 report, described the current system as “harsher and less accountable than ever,” citing overcrowding, substandard medical care, and extensive violations of the agency’s own detention standards.
For state-by-state information on immigration detention facilities, visit our facility directory.
