On Monday (Jan. 26), the top federal judge in Minnesota issued a blistering critique of three Trump administration officials for repeatedly violating court orders. One of the three is David Easterwood, the acting director of the St. Paul ICE field office. Easterwood is also a pastor at Cities Church in St. Paul, where activists recently interrupted Sunday worship to protest the church having an ICE leader as a pastor.
Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz, who was appointed to the federal bench by George W. Bush and previously clerked for conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, criticized Easterwood, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and acting ICE head Todd Lyons for repeatedly failing to comply with court orders. Schlitz also ordered Lyons to appear in court this week to explain why the agency had not released a man held in detention despite a court order for his release on Jan. 14.
After Schlitz’s order, ICE on Tuesday released the Minnesota man from detention in Texas. While that means Lyons won’t have to appear in court on that case, as Schlitz noted, Lyons, Noem, and Easterwood have also defied numerous other court orders.
People protest against ICE in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 25, 2026. (Adam Gray/Associated Press)
“This is one of dozens of court orders with which respondents have failed to comply in recent weeks,” the judge wrote. “The practical consequence of respondents’ failure to comply has almost always been significant hardship to aliens (many of whom have lawfully lived and worked in the United States for years and done absolutely nothing wrong): The detention of an alien is extended, or an alien who should remain in Minnesota is flown to Texas, or an alien who has been flown to Texas is released there and told to figure out a way to get home.”
“Respondents have continually assured the Court that they recognize their obligation to comply with Court orders, and that they have taken steps to ensure that those orders will be honored going forward. Unfortunately, though, the violations continue. The Court’s patience is at an end,” Schlitz added.
The Trump administration and evangelical leaders were quick to condemn last week’s protest at the Southern Baptist church where Easterwood is one of the pastors. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi pledged to arrest protesters — which her agency later did — to “ensure that the rule of law prevails.” Albert Mohler, a leading Southern Baptist theologian who has served as president of the convention’s flagship seminary for over a quarter-century, defended ICE on Monday after the execution of Alex Pretti, insisting that “as Christians, we either operate with respect for the rule of law or we do not.” Mohler, however, defended Easterwood for serving as an ICE leader.
