ICE’s top lawyer in Minnesota walks away after 31 years on the job

Top ICE lawyer in Minnesota retires

ICE Chief Counsel Jim Stolley retired from his Minnesota post after 31 years of federal service. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed the retirement was scheduled but gave no other details.

Stolley’s government email auto-reply said he had retired from public service. The New York Times first reported his departure.

His exit came during a period of intense legal strain on federal operations in the state, with courts struggling to keep up with a flood of immigration cases.

ICE attorney removed after courtroom outburst

Days before Stolley left, ICE attorney Julie Le was removed from a temporary assignment at the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office. Le told U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell that the system was broken and that she wished he would hold her in contempt so she could get a full night of sleep.

She had taken on 88 immigration cases in less than a month after volunteering for the assignment. Le said getting ICE to follow court orders was a constant struggle.

DHS called her conduct unprofessional and unbecoming of an ICE attorney.

Le described a system without guidance

Le said she arrived in Minnesota on Jan. 5 for a special mission to help with the case overload.

She told the judge she was not properly trained for the assignment and said there was no guidance or direction on what attorneys were supposed to do.

She said she had tried to resign but stayed because detainees still needed to be released under court orders. Her co-counsel, Ana Voss, the civil division chief, also resigned.

Judge warned court orders are not optional

U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell ordered Le and Voss to appear and explain why the government was not following court orders.

He warned that court orders are not optional and that having too many cases does not excuse continued illegal detention. Blackwell acknowledged the attorneys were working under difficult circumstances.

But he said some of the problems were of the government’s own making because of repeated noncompliance with judicial orders.

ICE violated 96 court orders in January

Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz found that ICE violated 96 court orders in 74 cases in January 2026 alone. Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee who clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia, said the tally was likely a substantial undercount.

He said ICE has likely violated more court orders in one month than some federal agencies have in their entire existence.

Schiltz warned that ICE is not above the law and threatened to order acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to testify under oath if violations continued.

Operation Metro Surge deployed 3,000 agents

DHS launched Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota in December 2025 and expanded it in early January 2026. At its peak, about 3,000 federal agents were deployed to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Minnesota normally has about 150 federal immigration officers.

The White House said agents made 4,000 immigration-related arrests during the operation. The administration cited fraud investigations in Minnesota as a reason for the surge.

Prosecutors leaving the office in waves

More than a dozen attorneys left the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2026. The office may have as few as 17 prosecutors remaining, down from about 70 during the Biden administration.

The first wave came after six prosecutors left over the DOJ’s handling of the Renee Good shooting investigation. A second wave followed weeks later, with up to eight more staffers departing. U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen said in a court filing that his civil division was down 50 percent.

Lead prosecutors on fraud case resign

Four lead prosecutors on the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case have all resigned.

The case involves charges against dozens of defendants accused of stealing from taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs. The final trial is scheduled for April 2026.

The prosecution has now been handed off to relative newcomers in the office. Federal prosecutors have so far convicted 62 people connected to the broader Minnesota fraud cases.

Military lawyers called in as replacements

The Justice Department sent military lawyers, known as judge advocates, to help with the caseload. Attorneys from other federal districts, including Michigan, were also brought in.

The FOX 9 Investigators found that some replacement attorneys had only recently passed the bar exam. One replacement was admitted to practice in Minnesota federal court just days before taking over cases.

Veteran prosecutors with decades of experience were being replaced by lawyers fresh out of law school.

Detained immigrants filing hundreds of challenges

More than 700 habeas corpus petitions have been filed by detained immigrants challenging their detention. That number is on pace to more than double the total filings from all of 2025.

In most cases, detained immigrants have won favorable rulings from judges. But even after winning in court, many detainees were not promptly released.

ICE was taking four days to return detainees to Minnesota from out-of-state facilities.

700 agents withdrawn but 2,000 remain

On Feb. 4, border czar Tom Homan announced the withdrawal of 700 federal agents from Minnesota.

About 2,000 agents remain in the state. Homan said his goal is to eventually bring the number back down to 150.

He said the drawdown came because of increased cooperation from Minnesota county jails. A full withdrawal, he said, depends on an end to civil disruption and interference with federal officers.

Federal judges warn of contempt proceedings

Stolley has not publicly commented beyond his email auto-reply. Le is no longer on assignment with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and her status at DHS is unclear.

Federal judges continue to warn that noncompliance may lead to contempt proceedings. The staffing crisis in the U.S. Attorney’s Office could affect both immigration and fraud cases going forward.

The administration has said it is prepared to handle the legal caseload needed to carry out its deportation agenda.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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