Lawyers from the US Department of Justice have admitted to violating roughly 50 court orders over a 10-week period in an immigration case, according to a court filing from the US Attorney’s office in New Jersey. The admission was made by Associate Deputy Attorney General Jordan Fox in a letter to New Jersey District Court Judge Michael Farbiarz, as reported by Politico.
The violations included missed hearing deadlines, late releases from custody, and one accidental deportation to Peru. In at least 17 instances, Immigration and Customs Enforcement transferred a detainee out of New Jersey despite a no-transfer order requiring them to remain in the state. Fox attributed these errors to “logistical delays in communicating.”
Fox, reportedly the Trump administration’s pick to succeed ousted US Attorney Alina Habba, acknowledged the scale of the breaches, which were found across 547 habeas corpus petitions. He assured the judge that the office would take a vigilant approach to compliance, stating: “We will continue to act with the utmost vigilance to prevent, self-report, and ensure compliance with court orders.”
The revelations paint a chaotic picture of attorneys and court staff struggling to meet filing deadlines and maintain communication. Similar difficulties have been reported across the country amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation push. In Minnesota, a former federal prosecutor, Julie Le, described exhaustion from handling immigration cases, telling a judge: “Sometime I wish you would just hold me in contempt, your honor, so that I can have a full 24 hours of sleep.”
Last month, a Minnesota federal judge found 96 violations of court orders across 74 cases in just 28 days. The Department of Justice has been asked for comment.
