WASHINGTON (AP) — A government attorney who told a judge her job was “done” during a court hearing stemming from the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota has been removed from her Justice Department post, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Julie Le was working for the Justice Department on detail, but the US attorney in Minnesota terminated her assignment after her comments in court on Tuesday, the person said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. She had been working for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement prior to the temporary assignment.
During a session on Tuesday in St. Paul, Minnesota, for several immigration cases, Le told US District Judge Jerry Blackwell that she wishes he could hold her in contempt of court “so I can get a full 24 hours of sleep.”
“What do you want me to do? The system coughs. This work catches. And I’m trying every breath I have so I can get what you need,” said Le, according to a transcript.
Le’s extraordinary remarks reflect the intense strain placed on the federal court system since President Donald Trump returned to the White House a year ago with a promise to carry out mass deportations. ICE officials said the surge in Minnesota has become the largest immigration operation ever since it was ramped up in early January.
Several prosecutors have left the US Attorney’s office in Minnesota amid frustration with increased immigration enforcement and the Justice Department’s response to the fatal shootings of two civilians by federal agents. Le has been assigned at least 88 cases in less than a month, according to online court records.
Blackwell told Le that the volume of cases is no excuse to ignore court orders. He expressed concern that people arrested in immigration enforcement operations are routinely jailed for days after judges have ordered their release.
“And I hear the concern about all the energy this is causing the DOJ to expend, but, with respect, some of it is your own by not complying with the orders,” the judge told Le.
Le said she was working for the Department of Homeland Security as an ICE attorney in immigration court before she “stupidly” volunteered to work the detail in Minnesota. Le told the judge that she was not properly trained for the task. She said she wanted to resign from the job but could not get a replacement.
“Fixing a system, a broken system, I don’t have a magic button to do that. I don’t have the power or the voice to do that,” she said.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Le was a trial lawyer.
“This behavior is unprofessional and unbecoming of an ICE attorney in abandoning her obligation to act with commitment, dedication and zeal for the interests of the United States Government,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
No and the US Attorney’s office in Minnesota did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Kira Kelley, an attorney who represented two petitioners at the hearing, said the flood of immigration petitions is necessary because “so many people are being held without a shred of legal basis.”
“And there’s no indication here that any new systems or bold e-mails or any instructions to ICE are going to fix any of this,” she added.