The New York Times interviews Minnesota-based federal judges on Operation Metro Surge and the habeas corpus phenomenon: sanctimoniousness ensues.
Yesterday, the Times wrote (paywall),
Trump’s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns.
Where to begin? First, the Times itself begins its piece with “In a rare interview, Patrick Schiltz, who served as the federal court’s chief judge…”
Media interviews with judges are rare because judges shouldn’t give media interviews. There should be no exceptions to this rule.
Second, in terms of the news cycle, all of this is ancient history. Operation Metro Surge ran from early December until mid-February. It resulted in roughly 4,000 illegal aliens being apprehended. More than 1,000 habeas corpus petitions were filed seeking release of ICE detainees. Local federal judges largely went along and granted nearly all of the petitions submitted. As the Surge wound down, so did the habeas filings.
Then on March 25, the regional 8th Circuit court of appeals ruled that the applicable law says that aliens facing deportation “shall be detained.” ICE operations have continued in Minnesota at a robust rate, although down from Surge levels. Habeas petitions have continue to pour and their success rate has dropped considerably, but not down to zero.
All of the new “revelations” included in the Times article had already been breathlessly reported in local Minnesota media during the first six months of 2026.
Since the piece appears in the New York Times, we’ll have to rely on the reporting on the reporting to skirt the impenetrable firewall. From the Daily Beast,
Sitting Federal Judge Sounds Bombshell Alarm on Trump.
All of these outlets want you to know that Schiltz once put himself forward as a conservative Republican,
A judge who keeps photos of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito in his chambers had harsh words for the Trump administration.
Until he aged out a few months ago, Schiltz served as chief judge of the Minnesota federal district. He was appointed to the bench by George W. Bush in 2006.
Schiltz and the Times look back to the period early this year when Operation Metro Surge was in full swing and habeas corpus petitions, seeking to free detainees, were being filed at a rate of more than one per hour. I’ve already debunked the lie that “hundreds” of court orders were defied by the Trump Administration. Not a single order was ever disobeyed. Not one. Not once. Failure to return a pack of cigarettes allegedly left behind by a released detainee is not North Korea-style tyranny.
As the 8th Circuit ruling demonstrated, Schiltz ended up on the wrong side of this issue and it is Judge Schiltz who is defying the law.
I have been tracking every one of the more than 350 habeas cases filed in Minnesota since the March 25 8th Circuit ruling. You can see the entire list here.
Judge Schiltz has decided 12 cases since late March, denying two habeas petitions and releasing 10 detainees. So much for “shall be detained.” Luckily, since moving into semi-retired status, he has not taken on any new cases since he stepped back in late June.
It’s not just being wrong on the facts, and wrong on the law, it’s the sanctimony, Schiltz and his fellow judges, as quoted in the Times and relayed by the outlet Minnesota Reformer,
The federal judges described to the Times a chaotic environment where the number of cases ramped up as more people challenged their detention in court. The judges described being constantly near their devices in case they missed a petition.
“The cost of me enjoying a movie could be somebody waking up in New Mexico the next day when they shouldn’t have,” Schiltz told the Times.
“New” Mexico? Rest assured that this concierge, bespoke-level of 24/7 service isn’t available to mere citizens. It is only provided to those that just about everyone involved acknowledges to be in open defiance of America’s immigration laws.
As for Schiltz himself, Fox News’ Bill Melugin reported back in January,
Judge Patrick Schiltz, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, and his wife were listed in a 2019 annual report for the organization, the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, which routinely condemns the Trump administration and advertises free legal advice for immigrants, refugees and people detained by ICE.
Schiltz told Fox News Digital in a statement he has “donated for many years to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota.”
Given this donation history, and the obvious conflict it raises, it’s remarkable that Schiltz was hearing any cases elated to ICE detention. But he went even further. Journalist Julie Kelly reported on the reporting on Twitter (X) yesterday,
Judicial “Collaboration” sounds to me like the opposite of judicial “independence.”
[Note: an earlier version of this post appeared at Power Line.]