Minnesota Judge Finds DHS in Contempt for Transferring Detainee Despite Court Order

A federal judge on Feb. 23 held the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in civil contempt for transferring a detainee from Minnesota to Texas in violation of a court order.

In an eight-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud of Minnesota ordered that the DHS pay $568.29 in compensation to Fernando Gutierrez Torres, a Mexican citizen, for travel expenses resulting from his transfer.

According to the order, Gutierrez Torres filed a habeas corpus petition on Jan. 19 asking for either his release or a bond hearing. He also filed a motion on Jan. 20 to block the government from transferring him out of Minnesota while his petition was pending.

Tostrud granted the motion on Jan. 20 and called for an expedited hearing on Gutierrez Torres’s petition. The DHS filed a response on Jan. 20, saying the immigrant had already been moved to Texas.

The judge then ordered DHS to provide an update on his whereabouts and determine when he would be returned to Minnesota. DHS responded that Gutierrez Torres had been sent to El Paso, Texas, and would return to Minnesota on Jan. 24, according to the court document.

Later that day, the judge granted Gutierrez Torres’s petition and ordered his release from custody within 48 hours.

Tostrud said DHS released the Mexican citizen in El Paso on Jan. 25 without his belongings, and his lawyers had to cover the airfare for his return to Minnesota, according to the court document.

In a response letter, DHS said the Jan. 24 flight to return Gutierrez Torres to Minnesota was canceled, likely due to a major winter storm that led to an emergency declaration in Texas. The agency said the earliest possible return date was Jan. 27, which would fall outside the 48-hour release window ordered by the judge.

The agency also said in its response letter that it recognized the move to release Gutierrez Torres in Texas “was not in compliance with the expectations and order of this court.”

Tostrud determined that DHS’s explanation did not support the inability to comply with his previous order and said the agency also failed to provide an explanation for withholding Gutierrez Torres’s belongings.

“Accordingly, I find that respondents’ conduct constitutes civil contempt, and respondents (as defined herein) are jointly and severally liable for compensatory civil contempt sanctions for airfare costs Fernando incurred because of the violation,” the judge said.

The order says DHS may file a motion by Feb. 28 to request an evidentiary hearing, and that the order will take effect on March 1 if no such motion is filed.

The Epoch Times contacted DHS for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.