MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The leading federal judge in Minnesota expressed dissatisfaction with the Trump administration’s disregard for mandates to conduct hearings for detained immigrants. He has summoned the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to court on Friday to justify why he should not face contempt charges.

In a directive issued on Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz instructed Todd Lyons, the interim director of ICE, to make a personal court appearance. Judge Schiltz criticized the administration’s approach to managing bond hearings for immigrants under detention.

“This Court has shown significant patience with respondents,” Schiltz remarked, “despite their decision to deploy thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without arranging for the inevitable flood of habeas petitions and other legal challenges.”

This development follows President Donald Trump’s directive for border czar Tom Homan to intensify immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota, after the second fatality involving an immigration officer this month.

In a broadcast interview on Tuesday, Trump mentioned having “excellent conversations” with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Monday, echoing sentiments he shared shortly after those discussions.

As he left the White House, the president was asked whether Alex Pretti’s killing by a Border Patrol officer Saturday was justified. He responded by saying that a “big investigation” was underway. In the hours after Pretti’s death, some administration officials sought to blame the shooting on the 37-year-old intensive care nurse.

The seemingly softer tone emerged as immigration agents were still active across the Twin Cities region, and it was unclear if officials had changed tactics following the shift by the White House.

Walz’s office said Tuesday that the Democratic governor met with Homan and called for impartial investigations into the shootings involving federal officers. They agreed on the need to continue to talk, according to the governor.

Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said they also met with Homan and had a “productive conversation.” The mayor added that city leaders would stay in discussion with the border czar.

The White House had tried to blame Democratic leaders for the protests of immigration raids. But after the killing of Pretti on Saturday and videos suggesting he was not an active threat, the administration tapped Homan to take charge of the Minnesota operation from Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.

The streets appeared largely quiet in many south Minneapolis neighborhoods where unmarked convoys of immigration agents have been sighted regularly in recent weeks, including the neighborhoods where the two deaths occurred. But Associated Press staff saw carloads of agents in northeast Minneapolis, as well as the northern suburb of Little Canada.

Schiltz’s order also follows a federal court hearing Monday on a request by the state and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul for a judge to halt the immigration enforcement surge. The judge in that case said she would prioritize the ruling but did not give a timeline for a decision.

Schiltz wrote that he recognizes ordering the head of a federal agency to appear personally is extraordinary. “But the extent of ICE’s violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed,” he said.

“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,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, though, the violations continue.”

The Associated Press left messages Tuesday with ICE and a DHS spokesperson seeking a response.

The order lists the petitioner by first name and last initials: Juan T.R. It says the court granted a petition on Jan. 14 to provide him with a bond hearing within seven days. On Jan. 23, his lawyers told the court the petitioner was still detained. Court documents show the petitioner is a citizen of Ecuador who came to the United States around 1999.

The order says Schiltz will cancel Lyons’ appearance if the petitioner is released from custody.

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Catalini reported from Trenton, New Jersey. Associated Press writer Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis contributed to this report.