Exposed: Minnesota federal judge threatening ICE director Todd Lyons appears on donor list of pro-illegal-immigrant group
The federal judge in Minnesota threatening to hold ICE Director Todd Lyons in contempt of court reportedly appears on a list of “donors and volunteers” to a group providing free legal advice and representation for illegal immigrants.
Bill Melugin of Fox News reported on Tuesday: “Fox News has learned that Patrick J. Schiltz, the Minnesota federal judge who is threatening to hold ICE Director Todd Lyons in contempt of court & is ordering him to appear in court on Friday, appears in a 2019 list of donors & volunteers for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, an organization that provides free legal advice and representation for illegal immigrants. Judge Schiltz was appointed by President Bush in 2006.”
NEW: @FoxNews has learned that Patrick J. Schiltz, the Minnesota federal judge who is threatening to hold ICE Director Todd Lyons in contempt of court & is ordering him to appear in court on Friday, appears in a 2019 list of donors & volunteers for the Immigrant Law Center of… pic.twitter.com/yBzst713Pf
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 27, 2026
Melugin also noted: “Per sources familiar, Judge Schiltz also declined probable cause on arrest warrants for Don Lemon and a handful of other protesters who stormed a church in Minnesota. He declined after federal magistrate Douglas Micko declined. 2/3 on appeals court also then declined.”
“The judicial cartel IS REAL,” said Eric Daugherty of RightLine News. “It needs to be purged. How can we have a republic when the judiciary is tainted like this?”
HOLY SMOKES. Minnesota federal Judge Patrick Schiltz is a DONOR and VOLUNTEER for the pro-illegal alien Immigrant Law Center…
…and is the same judge who shielded DON LEMON from accountability after storming the church, AND is threatening to hold ICE Director Todd Lyons in… pic.twitter.com/RPC6PwQ6lw
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 27, 2026
The judge has ordered Lyons to appear in court Friday to explain why he should not be held in contempt for allegedly violating a previous order, reported Rachel Wolf of Fox News Digital.
“This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,” Schiltz wrote.
“The Court’s patience is at an end. Accordingly, the Court will order Todd Lyons, the Acting Director of ICE, to appear personally before the Court and show cause why he should not be held in contempt of Court.”
In his order, Schiltz admits ordering Lyons “to personally appear is an extraordinary step,” but indicated “the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary.”
The judge also asserted “lesser measures” had been tried, but failed.
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