Federal judge holds DOJ attorney in contempt over ICE case

A Justice Department attorney has been ordered to pay a $500 daily fine after a federal judge found him in civil contempt of court.

On Wednesday, Judge Laura Provinzino, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, found Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Isihara in civil contempt, hitting him with a daily fine.

The judge reportedly said that her goal was to ensure the government complies with her orders regarding Rigoberto Soto Jimenez, a detained Mexican immigrant living in Big Lake, Minn., KMSP-TV reported. 

Soto Jimenez has reportedly lived in the U.S. since 2018 and has no criminal history or final orders of removal, according to KMSP-TV. Additionally, the outlet noted that Soto Jimenez's attorney stated that he is "years into the process of obtaining lawful immigration status."

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Soto Jimenez was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel on Jan. 14, and as of a Feb. 9 order, was not given "a warrant that justifies his detention," according to the judge's order.

Soto Jimenez was also allegedly denied a bond hearing, something the judge demanded be held. Additionally, Provinzino ordered that Soto Jimenez be released from custody by 5:00 p.m. on Feb. 13.

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ICE met the release deadline, but let Soto Jimenez out of detention without any of his identification paperwork, according to KMSP-TV. This appeared to violate Provinzino's Feb. 9 order, which said that the government was ordered to release Soto Jimenez "without imposing any conditions of release and to return all property to him."

Isihara reportedly admitted that Provinzino's order had fallen "through the cracks," according to KMSP-TV. The outlet noted that the attorney blamed a massive caseload and lack of staff to handle the civil litigation related to Operation Metro Surge.

"I don't think it is acceptable," Ishihara told the court, according to KMSP-TV. "I believe the volume of work over the last few weeks has exceeded the capacity of any one AUSA [Assistant U.S. Attorney]."

The daily fines will begin accruing on Thursday and will remain in place every day that Soto Jimenez does not have his identification, KMSP-TV reported.

In response to a request for comment, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security referred Fox News Digital to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond.